Fairstone has bought Kent-based firm Goodman Chartered Financial Planners, adding over £160mn assets under management to the group.
The deal takes Fairstone to its tenth office in the South East of England, bringing its total number of office locations to 55.
Goodman was established 35 years ago and Fairstone said it was the first firm in Kent to achieve corporate chartered financial planning status.
As part of the deal, its team of five advisers, eight paraplanners and client services staff, and 425 clients, will all move to Fairstone.
Andy Smith, director at Goodman, said he and his fellow directors knew that the shared values of creating long term relationships meant that joining Fairstone was a positive move.
“Joining Fairstone was very attractive to us as their commitment to independent financial advice and their passion for a high-quality service delivery very much matched our own,” he said.
“Fairstone encouraged us to manage our clients without any need to change our approach or their investment solutions. This trust has enabled us to build and grow the business.
“Fairstone’s scale and expertise means we can continue to focus on growth even after acquisition which is an exciting prospect for us.”
The firm joins Fairstone after a period of integration as part of Fairstone’s downstream buy out (DBO) programme.
During the integration phase, partner firms have access to the investment, resources, technology, and clients they need to achieve their growth aspirations.
Lee Hartley, chief executive officer of Fairstone, said: “Obviously Goodman were a great fit for Fairstone. Their early commitment to chartered status and to delivering independent advice was a strong indicator of how closely we were aligned.
“Having shared values is key for the long-term success of working in partnership before moving to a full acquisition and we look forward to helping Andy and his team grow as part of Fairstone.”
In November, Fairstone expanded its operations into five new areas with two acquisitions, bringing in £380mn in assets under management.
The company bought Station Financial IFA situated across three offices - New Milton in Hampshire, and Bridgend and Chepstow in Wales.
The deal brought Fairstone’s existing presence in Wales to five offices and added a fourth office to the firm’s growing footprint in the South West.
It also completed a takeover of Advanced Financial Services, which doubled the firm’s presence in County Durham - the firm has two offices in Newton Aycliffe and Consett.
Around the same time, the firm partnered with Norfolk-based firm Allen Tomas & Co adding £120mn in funds under management.
The firm, which is located in Kings Lynn, also joined Fairstone's downstream buy out programme which works to expand on the company’s regional presence.
Meanwhile, in July, the firm partnered with a West Midlands based firm adding £1.5bn in assets to the group.
Prosperity Wealth, based in Dudley, is made up of 63 advisers and 23 operational staff - it has 5,000 clients with £1.5bn in assets under management.
