Adviser avoids consolidators to sell to local firm

The deal, which completed in August 2023, took Bank House to a total of £185mn in assets under management and around 450 clients.

Simon Aucott, founder and director of Fox Whittle, has stayed on throughout the move and will be advising clients under the Bank House umbrella for the foreseeable future.

Talks of a deal started in the summer of 2022, when Bank House director and head of compliance, David Hipkiss, spoke to his next-door neighbor Aucott about an exit strategy. 

Hipkiss said Aucott was keen to emphasise his clients were “not for sale” and he “would not ever consider approaching a consolidator” to take over the firm.

“Aucott and his wife Lynn have run Fox Whittle for more than 20 years as a partnership, so he was cautious about the idea of an acquisition,” Hipkiss explained.

However, after speaking over the course of months, those involved realised that Bank House "could be the perfect fit".

Hipkiss added: “Aucott’s main focus was on finding a home for his clients that would not simply squeeze them into a one-size-fits-all solution.

“He has always maintained personal relationships with his clients, and it was imperative that they continued to receive the same level of bespoke service - something a consolidator may not be able to provide.”

Aucott said it was “wonderful” to be part of a team after having worked as a couple for more than two decades.

He also said the deal has offered him “the ultimate peace of mind”.

“We’re so well supported by Bank House; this partnership has offered us a new lease on life,” he stated.

“I now know that when I hang up my boots, my clients will get the long-term support they deserve.

“Bank House is a young firm with four advisers under 43, so this really was the right choice for my clients both now and for the decades to come.”

tom.dunstan@ft.com

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