Fairstone has announced two full acquisitions that will add £318m of funds under management and 1,250 new clients to the group.

The acquisitions of Grayside Financial Services in Epsom and Swindon-based Executive Wealth Management extend the group’s reach across the South and have continued Fairstone’s record 12 months of dealmaking.

In this period, 18 firms have joined Fairstone’s Downstream Buy Out (DBO) programme across the UK and Ireland, with a further eight full acquisitions also being completed.

Grayside Financial Services has over 50 years specialising in holistic investment and post-retirement advice. Executive Wealth is a full-service financial planning firm with a specialist commercial mortgage arm, Prospero Finance.

Both firms have join Fairstone after a period of integration as part of Fairstone’s DBO programme.

Fairstone CEO, Lee Hartley, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Grayside and Executive Wealth teams into the Fairstone family. Both are client-focused, quality firms which have established an excellent reputation for providing first-class service over many decades. They’re a great fit for Fairstone.”

Executive Wealth principals James Relph and Martin Smedley, said that the prospect of being part of a larger organisation and the potential to create further growth, were deciding factors in partnering with Fairstone.

“We have grown significantly in the past few years and needed the support and infrastructure of a large national brand to maximise new opportunities and help take the business to the next level,” Relph commented.

Principal at Grayside, Mike Seddon, added: “The DBO model really appealed to us as it has allowed us to partner with Fairstone first to integrate our processes and then be supported to grow, while remaining independent and continuing to service our client needs to the highest standard.”

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