A management buyout is being implemented at East Yorkshire’s Informed Financial Planning.
Eight shareholder employees make up the team, with founder and owner Kevin Ferriby selling the majority stake to the employees.
It is being conducted over a set period through a share scheme to ensure the longevity and continuing independence of the award-winning business.
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Mr Ferriby, who started IFP in Hull in 2004, will continue in the short term as managing director and will retain a minority stake, before moving to the position of chair.
The employees involved are chartered financial planners Gregg Crawford, John Copsey, Darren Goodall, Josh Richardson and Joe Sanders; head of business development, Jessica Crawford; head of compliance and technical, Anjeanette Kemp and head of finance and operations, Sarah Williams.
Mr Ferriby said: “We have structured it to enable the people involved in the success of the business to take it forward, protecting our clients’ interests and retaining the spirit of the company. Nearly all of them have trained with us and risen through the ranks.
“Most competitors in similar positions have sold to larger corporations who are part of a network and therefore have lost their independent status, and I did not want this to happen.
“I am proud of what has been achieved, and of the team who make IFP what it is today.”
With offices in Hessle, Leeds and Barnsley, the firm employs a total of 31 staff and has won numerous awards for its work including Money Marketing’s Adviser firm of the Year, Professional Adviser’s Best Financial Advisers to Work for 2021, and it has been one of New Model Adviser’s Top 100 UK IFA for seven successive years.
It also has a focus on encouraging the younger generation to plan for the future, and recently launched Informed Generation as a brand to make high quality financial services accessible and attractive to millennials and the Gen Z age groups.
Mr Richardson said: “The diverse age range of the buyout team, from early 20s to early 60s, really adds value to the service we are able to offer our clients. It’s great to have the opportunity to be an integral part of the company and its future.”
Jessica Crawford was IFP’s first apprentice 12 years ago. She said that to become a shareholder in the business was an exciting step in her career. “The journey so far at IFP has been fantastic and the future looks really bright.”
As well as having corporate chartered status, all IFP’s financial planners have individual chartered status, achieved through sitting a broad range of exams and meeting a high standard of eligibility criteria.
A new board of directors will be announced in April.
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