Fairstone Group has bought DHD Wealth Management for an undisclosed amount.
The Wales-based firm will bring total revenue of £1.5m to the Fairstone Group and funds under management of £260m.
Four advisers and five support staff will join the group as part of the deal.
Led by principals, Aled Davies, Clive Davies and Denise Jacob, DHD Wealth Management is a firm of independent financial advisers, providing advice to clients across Wales.
Fairstone chief executive Lee Hartley said: “Aled, Clive and the team at DHD Wealth Management bring a huge amount of experience to Fairstone and, having fully embraced the Fairstone proposition from the outset, we are delighted to welcome them to the group.
“DHD is an extremely well organised and robust business which also enjoys a strong and loyal client base.
“The integration and due diligence process with DHD progressed exceptionally well and thus the date of this acquisition was duly accelerated.”
Fairston’s “downstream buyout model” means it takes an initial minority stake in an IFA business and integrates the firm over a number of years.
DHD entered into the downstream buyout programme in April 2016 and the acquisition was completed this month, 11 months ahead of the intended completion date.
Mr Davies said: “In choosing to work with Fairstone, we recognised the benefits of being part of a larger business whilst maintaining our independent status and protecting the interests of our clients.
“For us it was vital to be able to spend more time with our clients and to leave the regulatory and operational side to the experts at Fairstone – prior to working with Fairstone I was disillusioned with the increasing level of compliance and regulatory workload and I’m now looking forward to concentrating on what I enjoy best which is directly advising clients.
“As a business we are eagerly anticipating a step-change in the expansion of our business and ensuring smooth succession planning for our valued clients in the years ahead.”
damian.fantato@ft.com
