CompaniesFeb 25 2016

Gale and Phillipson unveil expansion plans

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Gale and Phillipson unveil expansion plans

Wealth management firm Gale and Phillipson is on the lookout for advisers and advisory firms to help it expand in London and Newcastle.

A year after the merger of Jonathan Fry and Easby Gale and Phillipson, the firm has recorded revenue growth running at a record rate of £4.6m a year and has remained profitable during the internal investment and integration.

Phil Morris, head of acquisitions and distribution, said there were challenges integrating back office systems and support services infrastructure, but an operations manager had been recruited to help harmonise the offices and get staff working on the same basis.

He added that the “easy bit” was merging the two firms’ different capabilities in discretionary fund management and financial planning.

Gale and Phillipson recently launched a new discretionary managed service – the Discretionary Managed Portfolio – which uses actively managed and passive funds to build diversified, risk-rated, cost-effective portfolios for clients.

This will be rolled out to other firms on a white-labelled basis, as well as being used by in-house advisers.

The firm already has offices in London, Newcastle, Richmond and Northallerton in North Yorkshire.

Mr Morris explained that the plan was to recruit or acquire two or three additional advisers in both London and Newcastle.

In the north a few retiring IFA deals have already been done, while in the south Mr Morris said he was in discussion with a few firms looking to sell up but continue advising clients.

He said: “The merger gave us a strong spine down the country, but we’re looking to continue growing through natural recruitment and small acquisition.”

Five additional members of staff have already joined across investment, para-planning and administration, increasing the workforce to 60.

Also during the past 12 months, Gale and Phillipson opened a new office in Primrose Hill, North London, along with recruiting Robin Joyner Associates as an appointed representative of the firm in the South East of England.

Gale and Phillipson now manages or advises on more than £700m in client assets and has plans to accrue at least £1.5bn funds under management within five years through acquisition and organic growth.

peter.walker@ft.com