The 61-year-old father of three was taken ill last month and died peacefully, surrounded by his family.

Mr Girling jointly launched SG Wealth Management (SGWM) in 2001, helping build it into a 37-employee business.

Dr Andy Wood, chairman of SGWM, said in a statement to clients and colleagues: “As you can imagine, news of Stephen’s passing has hit all of us extremely hard within the business and we send our condolences to his wife Rachel, his children, and all who knew and loved him.

“I can say from both a personal and professional perspective that he was an incredibly special man who brought a lot of guidance, kindness and opportunity to many.

“We of course understand that our clients might be conscious of the pivotal role Stephen has played at the helm of our company for more than two decades, so we want to allay any potential concerns you may have as to the stability of operational activity at this time.

“Thanks to Stephen’s conscientious professionalism and his capacity to develop a hugely talented and competent team of experts in their field, we already have in place a strong leadership team.  Our clients can be assured that we are working as hard as ever on delivering same level of service and support you have come to expect of us.”

The company’s management team had already been actively looking at succession planning for SGWM, with a view to Mr Girling leaving the business this year.

Mr Wood said: “Stephen and I were already in discussions around his intention to step away from the business at the early part of 2024 and worked closely on creating a process through which we had been undertaking valuable governance and resilience work for much of 2023. As a result, we are able to be confident of smooth continuity even in these unexpected circumstances.”

• There will be a Thanksgiving Service for Mr Girling on Tuesday 16 January at 3.30pm at CityGates Church, 2 - 6 Botolph Street, Norwich NR3 1DU. Refreshments will be served in the church following the service and the family said they welcome along everyone who wishes to join them.