In an upbeat response to the Coronavirus outbreak, Financial Planning Group Progeny has recruited 9 new staff and has plans to expand.

The company says the new staff are needed because the group has “accelerated” plans to expand.

The new roles have been advertised and are across financial advice, wealth management, legal and IT / technical. 

Progeny plans to increase staffing and capacity so clients can deal with staff through a wider range of options including video and phone calls. The firm believes this multi-platform client communications approach will help it weather the pandemic lockdown.

All client and team meetings have been moved to video or phone calls. So far 12,000 minutes of video conference meetings have been carried out and staff are in the process of contacting all 3,500 clients.

Progeny chief executive Neil Moles said: "While many businesses are furloughing staff and going to ground, we are doing the opposite. We are increasing not reducing the size of our team and accelerating rather than pausing our plans to improve the business.

“We have taken the initiative to do what we can within our field to make a positive impact for our clients, our team members, our communities and society. Our aim is to emerge with a firm that can better service our clients, create more jobs and support our communities and charitable causes more effectively."

The company’s 8 offices across the UK, including London, Leeds, Edinburgh and Bucks, went into lockdown ahead of the government's guidelines and the firm’s 150 staff moved to remote working in 2 weeks.

Mental health well-being programmes are under way and the company is using feedback from staff to refine home working.

Progeny has expanded organically and by acquisition in recent years. It has acquired a number of Financial Planning firms including Chestergate, Evolve and recently Addidi. The company offers a range of financial and legal services including Financial Planning, asset management, tax, HR and private and corporate legal services.

Progeny staff have also found time to raise money for chosen charities with team members raising £1,130 for Martin House, a hospice.