Fairstone announce acquisition of Complete Financial Planning

Fairstone, one of the UK’s fastest growing wealth management businesses, today announces the acquisition of Complete Financial Planning, boosting the group’s strategic growth plans.

Principals Mark and David Rawlings decided to join Fairstone as the firm was looking to partner with a proven national business to provide the financial strength and stability needed to “grow and prosper within a sector that continues to face significant challenges.”

Despite joining Fairstone’s Downstream Buy Out (DBO) acquisition model in March 2020, just as the country went into lockdown and the ongoing pressures of the pandemic, Complete Financial Planning has benefitted from Fairstone’s growth support across their integration phase to see a 13% increase in fee income.

The Hereford-based firm will receive further ongoing support to continue that growth trajectory and unlock additional opportunities to create long-term value, including a secondary capital event, through Fairstone’s five layered proposition, which provides the potential for firms to effectively double the market value of their business.

Specialising in pensions and investments, the acquisition of Complete Financial Planning brings 11 advisers and staff into the group as well as more than 1,300 clients and more than £170m FUM.

Complete Financial Planning Principal David Rawlings said:

“The Fairstone proposition appealed to us as it provides an opportunity to work closely with one of the UK’s largest Chartered financial planning firms, to build our business together.

“We have been working closely with the Fairstone team over the past three years and the integration has been virtually seamless. We have embraced their Gateway system, which is a fantastic back-office system and is significantly better than what we were using before.

“Fairstone also shares the same cultural values and integrity as we do when it comes to putting clients first and foremost, making us an excellent fit.”

Fairstone’s proprietary DBO model integrates enterprising, forward-thinking IFA firms into the group, before final acquisition. The unique proposition provides firms with a series of upsides both pre and post-acquisition, which allows them to participate in the ongoing success of the group and secure long-term value.

Fairstone CEO Lee Hartley said:

“Complete is a quality firm with first-class individuals, who share our commitment to exceptional service and ambition to grow.

“They joined us at a rather difficult time globally as we were just going into lockdown with all the challenges that presented, but we worked closely with the team throughout the integration phase to provide the support and framework to grow the business.

“This demonstrates the unique strength of our acquisition model in that it gives firms the opportunity to be supported on a variety of levels to grow and maximise profits ahead of a sale, safeguarding business value even during periods of market downturn. This is again very pertinent, given the headwinds we are seeing across the sector, meaning that firms simply choosing to complete a traditional ‘sell now’ process could well receive less value for their business.

“Instead, our acquisition model supports firm owners to navigate unfavourable market conditions, by partnering with them and supporting them to grow ahead of a sale, while business owners can control the timing of the sale window to optimise value.”

Interested in becoming part of the Fairstone family?

To find out more about how our unique acquisition model could work for you and your organisation, speak to a member of our M&A team today.