Fairstone announce acquisition of Sabre Financial

Fairstone, one of the UK’s fastest growing wealth management businesses, today announces the acquisition of Sabre Financial, adding more than £200m in FUM to the group.

The deal further expands Fairstone’s nationwide coverage and takes total FUM under the group’s umbrella to more than £13 billion.

Principals Stuart Read and Dale Came, decided to join Fairstone as they were looking to partner with a well-established national Chartered firm that would help them grow, while offering a whole of market independent choice for their clients.

The Devon-based firm, which joined Fairstone’s Downstream Buy Out (DBO) acquisition model in September 2020, utilised Fairstone’s support services to grow during their integration process to deliver an 18% increase in revenue and a 6% increase in client numbers.

The firm will receive ongoing support to grow further and unlock additional opportunities to create long-term value, including a secondary capital event, through Fairstone’s five layered proposition, which provides the potential for firms to effectively double the market value of their business.

Established in 1997 and specialising in pensions and investments, the acquisition of Sabre Financial brings nine advisers and staff into the group as well as more than 800 clients and more than £200m FUM.

Sabre Financial Principal Stuart Read said:

“After discussing our objectives with a number of organisations, we felt that Fairstone was the only firm who genuinely understood the reasons behind our success as a financial planning business, and crucially, would support our growth.

“The proposition really appealed as our clients do not have higher costs forced upon them nor are they obligated to move into different investment solutions.

“This allows us to strive for excellence in the advice market whilst remaining independent.”

Unique DBO acquisition model

Fairstone’s proprietary DBO model integrates enterprising, forward-thinking IFA firms into the group, before final acquisition. The unique proposition provides firms with a series of upsides both pre and post-acquisition, which allows them to participate in the ongoing success of the group and secure long-term value.

Fairstone CEO Lee Hartley said:

“Sabre Financial struck us as a dynamic firm, with an excellent reputation for serving clients over many years, making a great addition to the Fairstone family.

“Bringing Sabre into the group extends our nationwide footprint and the pace of their growth to date demonstrates their alignment with our model. We want to partner with ambitious firms and support their continued development, delivering long-term organic growth.

“In this climate in particular, it is essential for IFA businesses that are looking to sell to focus on protecting the value of their business to offset the impact of headwinds and uncertainties in the market.

“Our DBO model offers a proven platform to do this, as we act as an investment partner for businesses, providing the centralised resource, technology and capital to support sustainable growth ahead of a sale, making a real impact on profits and valuation even in unfavourable market conditions.”

Interested in becoming part of the Fairstone family?

To find out more about how our unique acquisition model could work for you and your organisation, speak to a member of our M&A team today.