One Four Nine announces 'largest acquisition to date'

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by
One Four Nine announces 'largest acquisition to date'

Independent advice firm One Four Nine has announced its largest acquisition to date with the purchase of Glasgow-based McCrea Financial Services.

The purchase sees the firm’s assets under management increase to £1.3bn, with One Four Nine now servicing 4,000 clients from seven locations across the UK.

With the addition of McCrea Financial Services, One Four Nine now has more than 100 staff across the UK, including 31 advisers.

One Four Nine chief executive, Matthew Bugden said he was delighted to welcome McCrea to the team and explained that he plans to continue growing the company in 2023.

“This is the single largest purchase we have made and highlights the depth and scale achieved in just over a year. Our integration strategy will now be rolled out to drive operational efficiency, and enable our high quality advisers to spend more time delivering excellent service to our valued customers,” Bugden said. 

Established in 1999, McCrea Financial Services is led by Douglas McCrea and offers a full suite of chartered financial planning.

The firm was one of the first in the UK to be awarded ‘Investor in People’ platinum status, which it still holds. 

One Four Nine said the acquisition is a further step forward in its plans to build a nationwide, integrated financial advice and fund management business. 

The announcement follows the recent expansion of One Four Nine’s leadership team with the appointment of Barry Strathearn as chief compliance officer and Stuart Harding as the chief operating officer.

The firm plans to announce further appointments to its senior leadership team in the coming weeks. 

Commenting on the purchase, One Four Nine, chief financial officer Patrick Goulding said: “A high-calibre firm such as McCrea choosing to join our business is a strong endorsement of our strategy and we look forward to attracting similar high quality firms to the One Four Nine Group.”

McCrea Financial Services managing director Douglas McCrea added that it was One Four Nine’s client-centric approach that made the deal so attractive.

“They are very much a people business both with staff and also with their aim to look after both new and existing clients which is very much at the heart of how we have built McCrea over the last 24 years,” he said.

“After almost 40 years in the industry I felt a huge responsibility to ensure the future of our staff and clients are in good hands for the many years ahead. 

“Having spoken to many companies over recent years they were a stand out and my staff and I are looking forward and excited for the next stage in our journey as part of a nationwide, independent advisory firm delivering excellence in customer service looking after our clients,” McCrea said.

Back in October, One Four Nine announced the purchase of its sixth IFA, Nottingham-based advice firm HFL Financial Advisers.

Prior to HFL, One Four Nine bought Aberdeen-based financial adviser Russell Gibson Financial Management in August.

jane.matthews@ft.com