Tilney, the financial planning and investment arm of renamed wealth manager Tilney Smith & Williamson, is adding an investment management team to its advice office in Newcastle.
The North East expansion will see the firm add a largely existing investment management team led by Matthew Burgess (pictured), who has spent the past five years managing investments at Tilney’s Liverpool office.
Tilney has offered financial planning services in Newcastle for the past ten years, having grown its team to 16 employees working out of the city over this time.
Its newest addition is Angus Wilson (pictured), an assistant investment manager from rival Brewin Dolphin. The firm said it plans to expand the Newcastle office, situated in Quayside House, “further in the coming years”.
David Smith, a managing partner at Tilney’s Newcastle office, said the firm’s latest expansion “demonstrates Tilney’s commitment to continued growth in the North East”, calling investment management “the engine that drives financial planning”.
Smith continued: “We have long believed in a dual expert approach of combining financial planning and investment management to deliver a very joined up wealth management service, but feedback we regularly get from our clients is that they value the ability to meet with people based in the North East.”
Brooks Macdonald also expanded this week. But instead of looking North East, Tilney’s rival is doubling down on the South West with its new Cheltenham office.
Whilst Brooks operates 13 offices, Tilney is part of a larger 30-office footprint following the merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson which was completed on September 1 last year.
A financial update on the merger in May saw Tilney’s parent post a 47 per cent increase in operating income for 2020.
The group currently operates through three principal brands: Tilney, Smith & Williamson, and online investment service Bestinvest. These brands span some 30 offices across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and the Channel Islands.
The same month as its merger, the group also announced its digital drive with the appointment of chief technology officer Mayank Prakash.
He comes from FTSE 100 utilities group Centrica, having previously worked at the Department of Work & Pensions as its chief digital and information officer.
In an update on the digital drive, Chris Woodhouse, chief executive of Tilney Smith & Williamson, said in May: “We have made good progress with integration projects and our digital development agenda is gathering pace, which will both improve client experience and support the scalability of the business.”
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
