Fairstone scores acquisitions half century with East Devon Associates deal

A wealth management firm has hit a takeover milestone.

Newcastle-headquartered Fairstone has secured its 50^th acquisition after agreeing a deal for East Devon Associates.

The takeover is Fairstone’s third of 2022, having already added Scottish Highlands-based East2West Financial Services and Huddersfield’s Brantwood Financial Planning to its stable.

Founded in 2004, Sidmouth-based East Devon Associates brings five staff and 500 clients to Fairstone, while increasing its footprint in the South West.

The takeover comes alongside Fairstone’s tenth anniversary of merger and acquisition activity and revenues hitting £100 million, and chief executive Lee Hartley [pictured above] has pledged to maintain the momentum, revealing further takeovers are in the pipeline.

He said: “We’ve now reached three very significant milestones, which reflect our substantial growth in a very clear fashion.

“These are real indicators of maturity and are also important markers in our mission to establish ourselves as the leader in the whole-of-market wealth advisory space.

“Our first acquisition ten years ago laid the foundations for our exceptional London business that has evolved from those origins.

“Thanks to the success of our unique downstream buy-out acquisition programme, we now enjoy a truly national footprint, delivering first-class service to clients countrywide.

“Building on this position, our plan is to accelerate the group’s growth through continued focus on our proven proposition and targeting some select new geographies.

“We really do want to put clear blue water between ourselves and some of our peers.”

Alongside its North East headquarters, Fairstone operates from more than 40 locations nationwide, with 400 regulated advisers and 410 operational staff.

It oversees £13 billion in funds under management for 40,000 wealth clients.