Acquisitive Financial Planning firm Fairstone has acquired £135m AUM Cumbria-based Chartered Financial Planning firm Financial Concepts for an undisclosed sum.

The deal adds £135m in funds under management to Fairstone and more than 1,700 clients.

The acquisition is the fourth for Fairstone so far this year.

Financial Concept’s 10 advisers and staff will all join Fairstone.

First established in 2000 and specialising in pensions and investments, the Carlisle-based firm joined Fairstone’s Downstream Buy Out acquisition model in December 2019.

Since December 2019 the firm has seen a 7% increase in revenue and a 6% increase in clients, according to Fairstone.

Darren Turnball, director at Financial Concepts, said: “We are delighted to join Fairstone as we feel that this will enhance the offering from our business as we move forward, providing long term continuity to our clients while giving our staff the chance to progress in their careers.

“Thanks to the support offered by Fairstone, we are looking forward to growing further as a business and being fully focused on providing the highest level of professional advice and guidance to our clients for the next 20 years and more.”

Fairstone CEO Lee Hartley said: “They joined us at a rather difficult time as it was a couple of months before we went 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.

“Our acquisition strategy remains firmly focused on bringing in quality, ambitious firms such as Financial Concepts, who want to join us and be supported to grow with us, delivering long-term organic growth.”

Fairstone expects to make several more acquisitions this year.

Fairstone is one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms. The group has over 40 locations across the UK with a head office in Newcastle and a City office, and the firm’s 400 regulated advisers and 380 operational staff oversee £13bn in funds under management for over 40,000 clients.