Fairstone, one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms, has further consolidated their presence in the North West, with the acquisition of Octagon Wealth Management.
The purchase, the seventh of the year by the full-service wealth management house, further highlights the strength of Fairstone’s proprietary Downstream Buy Out (DBO) model in integrating ambitious IFA firms into the group.
Octagon Wealth Management, which specialises in the management of investment and retirement portfolios, is based in Burscough, near Ormskirk.
The acquisition brings an additional 800 clients into the group together with Octagon’s four advisers and five support staff. The acquisition also secures gross fee income of £1.10m for Fairstone together with funds under management of more than £150 million.
Commenting on the deal, Lee Hartley, CEO of Fairstone, said: “We are delighted to complete the final acquisition of Octagon, having worked closely with them through our proprietary DBO programme.
“At Fairstone, we work hard to ensure our proposition gives firms the framework they need to significantly grow their businesses, without compromising on client service or independence.
“Finalising this deal with Octagon brings another valued business into Fairstone and continues our excellent growth plan for 2019. We have every faith that in Rick and Jon we have found long-term business partners who will play a key role in the next part of our journey.”
Company principals at Octagon Wealth Management, Richard Hollington and Jon Routledge, said that Fairstone’s strength in size, its customer-focused acquisition model and technology were the main factors in their decision to join Fairstone.
Richard Hollington added: “Whilst we have been integrated into the Fairstone family for over two years now, by being fully absorbed into one of the largest Chartered Financial Planning firms in the UK, our clients can be even more confident that we will be there for them for the long term.
“We are faced with the challenges of ever-changing and increasing regulation and the need to continually adapt to new processes and systems. Deepening our existing relationship with Fairstone means we can take full advantage of the support offered, leaving us with more time to spend with our clients, who are the ultimate focus of our business.”