Fairstone has purchased Nottingham-based IFA firm James Ryan Thornhill for an undisclosed sum.
James Ryan Thornhill brings more than £110mn of assets under management, 600 clients and a team of five financial advisers, seven paraplanners, mortgage advisers and administrative staff to Fairstone.
The deal is part of Fairstone’s downstream buyout model which sees the business act as an investment partner, providing centralised resource, technology and capital to support the growth of an IFA ahead of a future sale.
James Ryam Thornhill director, Del-Ryan Rafter said: ““The biggest appeal of Fairstone’s proposition was that they truly valued the ‘human capital’ within the business and by this, I mean our hard-working colleagues who are vital to the day to day running of our firm’s operations.”
Fairstone chief executive Lee Hartley, said the business’s DBO model was “over and above” other acquisition programmes in the sector.
“We only partner with ambitious growth-orientated firms like James Ryan Thornhill who are not seeking a quick exit but favour a longer-term partnership beyond acquisition. I am looking forward to seeing the next stage of James Ryan Thornhill’s growth evolution,” he added.
Fairstone has had 16 firms join its DBO programme in the past 12 months across the UK and Ireland as well as a further six full acquisitions.
The business has 55 locations across the UK overseeing £15bn funds under management for more than 55,000 wealth clients.
In July 2023, the group added £1.5bn in assets with the acquisition of Dudley-based Prosperity Wealth.
Fairstone said its M&A pipeline was strong for this year with a “significant” number of discussions currently underway with firms.
Earlier this year, Fairstone moved to a single charging structure with an ongoing advice fee of 80 basis points, as it looked to meet consumer duty requirements.
The firm moved away from its three-tier proposition to instead have one default service with one charging structure.
But some advisers within the group raised concerns about the changes saying some clients would fall out of the bottom because they do not reach the minimum fee.
alina.khan@ft.com
