Fairstone has bought a Glasgow-based financial advice firm in its latest deal.
The acquisition of Professional Partners is the fourth acquisition the company has made this year and brings funds under management of £160m into Fairstone.
Fairstone has said the deal marks a "huge step forward" in the company's growth strategy.
Lee Hartley, chief executive of Fairstone, said: “Professional Partners have been advising clients for over 27 years and in common with Fairstone, is dedicated to quality service.
"The whole team are consummate professionals and have a shared ambition to grow the business – through this acquisition we are delighted to have secured such a strong presence in Glasgow and across the wider region.
"We have always believed that clients should never be commoditised and throughout the acquisition process clients have remained the priority.
“Uncertainty over pensions and the future of Brexit negotiations means that people will need quality financial advice more than ever.
"As one of the largest Chartered financial planning company in the UK, Fairstone will bring its marketing support and technology to bear to ensure that Professional Partners can offer their bespoke, whole-of-market advice to an ever-growing client base."
The purchase was made through Fairstone's downstream buy-out model, where the company initially takes a minority stake in an advice firm before integrating it into its business and then buying the whole thing.
Fraser Thomson, principal at Professional Partners, said: "We wanted to join a progressive, national company which will help us to strengthen our business whilst allowing us to remain independent and further improve the levels of service to our clients. This was always our objective and will remain so.
"Over the years, we have created a service which has supported our clients through career development, family financial planning, retirement and beyond. We enjoy helping clients achieve their financial goals and pride ourselves on providing a holistic and tailored personal service with a view to developing long term client relationships."
damian.fantato@ft.com
