Fairstone accelerates expansion with £2bn-plus acquisition programme

Fairstone has added more than £2bn of client assets under management after acquiring eight firms in the first three months of 2026.

The wealth management group added practices in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland during the first quarter of the year as it fulfilled its prediction of a step-change in growth.

The acquisitions included Fairstone’s largest purchase to date – the acquisition of West Midlands wealth management and corporate financial planning specialist Prosperity Wealth in February.

Added to Prosperity have been the acquisitions of firms in Northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, the South of England, the West Country, the East Midlands and the North East of England as Fairstone expands and strengthens its geographic footprint across the UK.

Fairstone CEO Steven Cooper CBE said: “I said in January that I expected a busy first full year as CEO and that has certainly been the case so far.

“In just the first quarter of the year, we have added substantially to the business, not only in terms of the bare figures of client assets under management, but also in terms of our strategic presence and the depth and breadth of the services which we can offer our clients.

“For example, bringing Prosperity on board has added substantially to our expertise in areas such as corporate financial planning and employee benefits.

“These are things which not only benefit those clients who Prosperity have brought with them to Fairstone, but also to our existing and future clients right across the country.

“Every one of the eight firms who became part of Fairstone during Q1 brings something new to the business and strengthens the group as we look to help many more people achieve their financial goals and face the future with confidence.”

All eight firms acquired in the first quarter of 2026 were brought into Fairstone via the Downstream Buy-Out (DBO) model.

The DBO offers initial, minority equity investment, operational resource, and regulatory support to partner firms, allowing them to focus on unlocking growth and building profitability without being held back by increasing regulatory headwinds or by back-office or compliance workload.

Partner firms, once fully integrated, are then able to sell to Fairstone, ensuring they realise maximum value when the time is right for them and then continue to share in the proceeds of their growth following full acquisition.

The eight firms acquired so far this year first signed their DBO agreements between two and four years previously, enabling their people and processes to become fully integrated into Fairstone – and capital value to be optimised – before becoming part of the group.

Steve McNicol, Chief Development Officer at Fairstone, said the firms that were fully acquired in the first quarter of 2026 would be joined by several others during the course of year.

He explained: “Much of the rest of 2026 is already mapped out for Partner Firms planning to complete their DBO journey, culminating in their full acquisition this calendar year.

“One of the great benefits of the ability to consistently bring the right firms into the DBO programme is that this translates directly into a highly predictable pipeline of full acquisitions, delivering certainty for principals and for Fairstone.

“We have a further 13 acquisitions scheduled before the end of the year with firms that will have completed a partnership period with us spanning anywhere from one to five years.

“The DBO process is also far less disruptive for clients and enables principals to benefit from advantages in technology, compliance and regulatory support and product choice, helping them to further grow their business before the final sale.”

In addition to more acquisitions during 2026, Fairstone is also anticipating further firms to join the DBO programme across the year.

Steve McNicol said: “So far in 2026, an additional eight firms have signed up to the DBO across the UK and Ireland, bringing with them more than £1bn of client assets under management.

“We expect that number to grow during the rest of the year as we target ambitious, client-focused firms in strategic areas across the country.

“We will continue to choose partner firms carefully to ensure they match our ambitions and vision to be the most trusted wealth management group in the UK and Ireland.”

More details about the firms fully-acquired in the first quarter of 2026 will be revealed over the coming weeks.

Fairstone is one of the fastest growing financial services organisations in the UK and Ireland.

It operates from more than 50 different locations, employing over 1,350 operational staff and regulated advisers.

Fairstone oversees £23 billion in assets under management on behalf of over 125,000 clients and is one of the most trusted wealth management groups in the UK and Ireland with more than 15,000 reviews on Trustpilot and a 98% client satisfaction rating.