South Tyneside wealth manager Fairstone has snapped up a Devon business two years after it initially partnered with the firm.
Boldon-based Fairstone has added more than £200m funds under management to the group through the acquisition of Sabre Financial, which also expands its geographical footprint and takes total group funds to more than £13bn.
Principals Stuart Read and Dale Came decided to join Fairstone after looking to partner with a well-established national chartered firm that could help them grow. The Kingsbridge-based business joined Fairstone’s Downstream Buy Out (DBO) acquisition model in September 2020, using Fairstone’s support services to grow during their integration process, which resulted in an 18% increase in revenue and a 6% increase in client numbers.
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The firm will receive ongoing support to grow further and unlock more opportunities. Sabre Financial, launched in 1997 to specialise in pensions and investments, has nine advisers and staff and more than 800 clients.
Mr Read said: “After discussing our objectives with a number of organisations, we felt that Fairstone was the only firm who genuinely understood the reasons behind our success as a financial planning business, and crucially, would support our growth. The proposition really appealed as our clients do not have higher costs forced upon them nor are they obligated to move into different investment solutions. This allows us to strive for excellence in the advice market whilst remaining independent.”
Fairstone’s DBO model integrates firms into the group, before final acquisition.
CEO Lee Hartley said: “Sabre Financial struck us as a dynamic firm, with an excellent reputation for serving clients over many years, making a great addition to the Fairstone family. Bringing Sabre into the group extends our nationwide footprint and the pace of their growth to date demonstrates their alignment with our model. We want to partner with ambitious firms and support their continued development, delivering long-term organic growth.
“In this climate in particular, it is essential for IFA businesses that are looking to sell to focus on protecting the value of their business to offset the impact of headwinds and uncertainties in the market. Our DBO model offers a proven platform to do this, as we act as an investment partner for businesses, providing the centralised resource, technology and capital to support sustainable growth ahead of a sale, making a real impact on profits and valuation even in unfavourable market conditions.”
Fairstone now has over 40 locations across the UK, overseeing £13.5bn for over 45,000 wealth clients.
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