Fairstone Kick Start the New Year with Two Acquisitions

Fairstone, one of the UK’s largest Chartered financial planning firms, has further consolidated its presence in the South and East, with the acquisition of two firms.

The purchase of Hamlyn Financial Services in Swaffham, and Wagstaffs Wealth Management in Stevenage, marks a solid start to the year for the full-service wealth management house and further highlights the strength of Fairstone’s proprietary Downstream Buy Out (DBO) model in integrating ambitious IFA firms into the group.

Hamlyn Financial Services specialise in pensions and investments and the acquisition brings an additional 2,500 clients into the group together with six advisers and seven support staff. The acquisition also secures gross fee income of £830,000 for Fairstone together with funds under management of £113m.

Meanwhile the acquisition of Wagstaffs Wealth Management, which specialises in holistic financial planning, brings an additional 330 clients into the group together with Wagstaff’s three advisers and four support staff. The acquisition also secures gross fee income of more than £1m for Fairstone together with funds under management of circa £150 million.

Commenting on the deals, Lee Hartley, CEO of Fairstone, said: “We are delighted to complete the final acquisitions of Wagstaffs and Hamlyn, having worked closely with them through our proprietary DBO programme.

“Both Wagstaffs and Hamlyn are dedicated to quality service and like Fairstone, take a client centric approach to business. They also share our appetite to grow and develop, making them a perfect fit.

“Finalising these deals brings two more valued businesses into Fairstone and is a good start to our growth strategy for 2020.”

Company principals at Wagstaffs, Elliot Stewart and Simon Beedle, explained that the culture, the people and the whole of market approach for client solutions, were the main factors of the Fairstone proposition that appealed.

Elliot added: “Our clients are at the heart of our business and this shared attitude stood out from our first contact with Fairstone.

“Additionally, we benefit from the wider resources, skills and expertise within the Fairstone Group that we didn’t have as a directly authorised firm.  Our business values and client-focused approach are well aligned with Fairstone.”

Company principal at Hamlyn, Stephen Grass, added that joining Fairstone had provided the opportunity to offer longevity for the business and staff, while “continuing to grow within a professional, well-run organisation”.

He added: “Joining Fairstone has provided us with additional support and research capabilities to ensure that we continue to offer our clients the best possible independent financial advice, both now and in the future.”