Perspective Financial Group has bought Wiltshire-based Avon Financial Advisers in its seventh deal of the year.
The deal will see Perspective gain 240 clients and £42m assets under management and comes just weeks after the firm disclosed it had already completed six acquisitions in the first half of 2021.
Ian Wilkinson, chief executive officer of Perspective, said: “This acquisition is further evidence of our position of being the ‘acquirer of choice’ for retiring IFAs.
"Avon fits our profile well with many of their client relationships averaging 25 years’ duration and spanning multiple generations.
“For us, it’s essential the firms we acquire share our client-centric approach as this is absolutely fundamental to our success.”
Avon, which was founded by Stephen Cook in 2011, is based in Chippenham and will become part of Perspective’s office in Marlborough.
Cook will retire from Avon, saying the Covid-19 pandemic had made him "reflect on matters".
He said: “After just over 45 years in the financial services industry of which 34 years have been spent as a financial adviser, I have decided now is the right time for me to retire. It has been a privilege to help many clients during my career since I came to work and live near Chippenham.
“I had not originally intended to retire yet, but the Covid-19 pandemic made me reflect on matters. It is increasingly challenging to run a small financial advice business due to the ever increasing regulatory and reporting burdens required by our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority.”
He added: “This move will provide long term security for the provision of financial advice to my clients and enable me to retire with confidence, knowing that they are in excellent hands."
He said a key factor for him was Perspective’s ability to "combine the feel of a local firm with the strength of a national one".
"This means that some of my clients who over the years have moved away from Chippenham, will now be served by a number of Perspective’s offices in other areas of the UK... I know many of my clients have appreciated the easier access to advice that this will bring.”
A year ago, Bradford on Avon-based Jones Hill was also integrated into the group’s Marlborough office.
At the time, former Jones Hill boss Brian Hill said he would exit the business while the firm’s other staff would transfer to Perspective.
This latest purchase of Avon also follows a series of purchases by Perspective last month in Warrington, Sevenoaks, Burford and Bury.
The national financial planner and wealth manager bought Prolific Financial Services, Evolve Financial Management, Bowman Financial Planning and Quantum Portfolio Management, in a move which added 600 clients and £350m AUM to the firm.
