Gilson Gray Financial Management buys SJP partner firm

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Gilson Gray Financial Management buys SJP partner firm
(Left to right) Steve Herkes, managing director of Gilson Gray Financial Management, Gordon Laing, managing director of RS Robertson Financial Planning, and Lindsay Darroch of Gilson Gray Financial Management

Gilson Gray Financial Management, the financial services arm of full-service legal firm Gilson Gray, has bought Fife-based RS Robertson Financial Planning.

Founded in the 1970s, with managing director Gordon Laing taking over in 2013, the firm is one of St. James's Place partner practices in Scotland.

As part of the deal, Laing and a team of 12 financial planning and client relationship specialists will join Gilson Gray’s Dundee office, which recently expanded into new city centre premises at 2 West Marketgait. 

Laing said: “In a world of growing financial complexity we see it as a huge bonus to be able to offer clients access to the wider expertise of Gilson Gray’s team of professionals. 

“Joining GGFM and having the backing of the firm means I will be able to spend more time doing one of the things I am most passionate about – helping the next generation of financial planners with training and development.”

The move will see RS Robertson Financial Planning’s clients across Scotland’s east coast and central belt gain access to Gilson Gray’s wider legal and property offerings.

The latest purchase takes GGFM’s total assets under management to more than £650mn and forms part of a continued expansion programme, including the recent addition of Edinburgh-based Sarah Hughes Wealth Management.

Steve Herkes, managing director of GGFM, said: “Gordon has decades of valuable experience and a well-established reputation for trusted financial advice in the region, and we know that GGFM will be a great fit for RS Robertson clients and team. 

“The acquisition not only represents an opportunity for GGFM to expand and grow our presence in Fife, Dundee and Angus, but will see Gordon join the fold to help develop the business further.”

Herkes added: “Gordon and I have known one another for around 10 years and have worked together on a few projects already. 

“This is an exciting time for both businesses, with two growing firms coming together to bolster our combined offering for clients. In just two years since Gilson Gray first arrived in Dundee, the firm has gone from strength to strength with this acquisition further adding to the range of financial, property and legal services we offer in the local market.”

sonia.rach@ft.com

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