Expanding Financial Planner and wealth manager Fairstone is to appoint a new, as yet unnamed, chief executive to replace founder Lee Hartley.

Mr Hartley will move to become deputy chair of the business from 1 October.

It is almost 18 years since he launched the national wealth advisory firm, but he said the change reflects a natural evolution for both himself and the business.

The business, based on Chartered Financial Planning, has expanded rapidly over the past nearly two decades, recently notching up its 100th acquisition.

Mr Hartley said: “I’m immensely proud to have built Fairstone from an initial concept through to our position today.

“It’s easy to talk about numbers, and obviously we’re a business of real scale and significance, but it’s the fact that we’re doing things differently that really puts the shine on the story.

“We have a unique model, we stay true to our values, and we firmly believe that independence and whole of market choice is not an impediment to growth or profitability.”

The new chief executive for the group will take up the position later in the year, and the firm said expects to reveal full details in September.

It said that Mr Hartley’s successor is a highly-experienced executive from within the financial services sector and has successfully managed national and international operations in previous positions.

Over the past few months, Fairstone has been developing an expanded long-term business plan, as well as making a series of enhancements to its Downstream Buy Out model, a progressive acquisition process. The initiatives will help drive the company towards its objective of £40bn in client assets by the end of 2030.

David Hickey, independent chairman at Fairstone, said: “It’s inevitable that a founder-led business will have to deal with this kind of transition at some stage, and I’m extremely pleased that we’re able to do this in a manner which only strengthens the company.

“Fairstone is quite a unique organisation, we have a fantastic culture and a very distinct strategy – Lee has been the chief architect in both respects, and these are the foundations of the great business that Fairstone has become.”

Mr Hartley added: “I’m really looking forward to helping guide the business from a new seat. We’ve massively improved our senior management team and organisational design over the last 18 months, and this is one of the principal reasons why I’m now able to make this decision.

“We’re in superb shape and we know exactly where we are heading, this feels like the right time and the right decision.”

In August 2024 the firm appointed former Abrdn MD Russell Bignall as its new group managing director.

In June 2024 Fairstone appointed Nick Stebbing as chief operating officer as part of plans to enhance its investment management business and broaden the range of services it offers clients and advisers.

In April 2024 it appointed six new managing directors as it changed its organisational structure.

Fairstone has fee income of more than £175m annually and operates from more than 56 locations with a head office in Sunderland and a City office in London. It has financial management, private wealth, corporate solutions, mortgage solutions and estate planning channels.

The firm employs more than 1,250 staff and regulated advisers and oversees £20bn in funds under management for more than 65,000 wealth management clients.