Consolidator Fairstone has gained almost 9,000 clients as the result of two acquisitions which bring funds under management of more than £120m to the business.
The deals mark six acquisitions by the national wealth manager this year and were completed using Fairstone's downstream buy-out model, which sees the company take a stake in an advice firm before integrating it and then purchasing it.
Fairstone has completed the acquisitions of Wakefield-based Lofthouse Gate, which specialises in pension planning and investment management, and London-based Mortgage Find, which arranges both residential and buy-to-let mortgages with an annual lending figure of around £280m.
The deals bring 8,800 clients and 20 advisers to the financial planning group alongside gross fee income of £2.3m and funds under management in excess of £120m.
Lee Hartley, chief executive of Fairstone, said: “We are delighted to complete the final acquisitions of Lofthouse Gate and Mortgage Find, having worked closely with them through our proprietary downstream buy-out programme.
"Both Lofthouse Gate and Mortgage Find are dedicated to quality service and like Fairstone, take a client centric approach to business.
"Fairstone’s business model delivers strong organic growth that leads to a transfer of client ownership and also places a focus on firms with an appetite to grow and develop, which is an ambition shared by both Lofthouse Gate and Mortgage Find."
In June the wealth manager bought Leicester-based Bankfield and Devon-based South West Financial Planning using the same downstream buy-out model, in deals which added more than £120m funds under management to the company.
Kirk James, principal at Lofthouse Gate, said: "Joining Fairstone enables us to enhance the service proposition we offer to all of our existing clients and to give a more robust and reliable service for the future.”
Mark Alexander, principal at Mortgage Find, said the deal allows his company to use Fairstone's compliance systems so it could in turn spend more time focusing on clients.
He added: "This deal means that we can combine our strengths with Fairstone to give our clients a fantastic service and proposition."
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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