Your IndustryOct 5 2017

Beaufort Group on the hunt for advice firms

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Beaufort Group on the hunt for advice firms

The Beaufort Group is looking to expand after reorganising its sales and distribution processes.

But the advice firm’s executive chairman Simon Goldthorpe said it is not looking to grow for the sake of it.

He said he views the network as a “partnership” and said its existing members are given a say in whether a new firm can join.

Mr Goldthorpe said: “Our ethos is about growing businesses and that doesn’t always sit well with someone who wants to be out of the industry.

“We are restructuring our sales and distribution processes right now to go out and get our message out there.

“We have had a couple of firms come along and we have taken a look at them and we have said they were not right for us.

“We have been doing it quite slowly but of course we have growth ambitions. We have created a valuable business and we have got in excess of £1bn in assets.

“We want to carry on doing that but if I wanted to hoover up a lot of assets I would have a restricted arm.

"I am not a flag waver for independence but I believe it is right.”

Beaufort Group was founded in 2012 and currently has 12 appointed representatives and four directly authorised firms.

Mr Goldthorpe, who co-founded the company and was previously founding director of the Beacon Group, said his company would also be willing to fund buy-outs of firms by their younger advisers.

He said: “It would make my year to find some young advisers who wanted to take over their business.

“Maybe they need to start their own business and I would like to get a few of those going in small partnerships. We will do everything for you, you just decide what address you want to work from.

“Obviously it has got to be mutually beneficial but getting access to that funding is near impossible.”

He said companies funded this way would then become members of Beaufort but he said this would provide the network with a “massive incentive” to keep them as members.

But he added while many networks make it difficult for their members to leave, something he said Beaufort Group does not do.

damian.fantato@ft.com