Fairstone acquires Somerset advice firm managing £125M in assets

What's the deal? Fairstone, the Sunderland-headquartered wealth management group, has acquired 1st Financial GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a financial advice firm based in Taunton, Somerset. The deal value was undisclosed. 1st Financial will be rebranded as Fairstone Taunton.

The details: 1st Financial provides independent financial advice, investment management, estate planning, and mortgage advice to more than 4,000 clients. Its advisers manage £125m in assets.

Why now? The acquisition completes a partnership that began in January 2022 under Fairstone's Downstream Buy Out (DBO) programme, which invests in advisory firms' growth before fully acquiring them.

What they're saying: "Since signing the DBO agreement, we've benefited hugely from the additional support and resources of what is one of the UK's largest and most trusted wealth management groups," said Phil Higginson, who heads 1st Financial.

Rob McDonnell, managing director (South) at Fairstone, called the firm "a strong strategic and cultural fit for our group." He pointed to the region's "sustained population growth, a high proportion of retirees and business owners, and increasing demand for holistic financial advice."

The signal: Fairstone continues to grow through its DBO model, converting long-run partnerships into outright acquisitions and expanding its national footprint one regional advisory firm at a time.

Read more: insidermedia.com

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