Fast growing adviser business acquirer Loyal North has acquired financial advisory firm Paul Wallis Financial Solutions, run by Chartered Financial Planner Paul Wallis, to expand its presence in the South East.

The Kent-based business will join Loyal North’s regional firm, H&D Financial Planning based in Maidstone, Kent.

The cost of the deal has not been disclosed.

Mr Wallis will join H&D as a senior Financial Planner with the deal adding £40m of client funds to Loyal North which has a total of £1.5bn in assets under advice or management.

Paul Wallis Financial Solutions (PWFS) is based in West Malling, Kent and has been serving clients for over 13 years.

Mr Wallis said: “We have always believed in putting our clients first, and that is why H&D, combined with the personalised and regionalised approach of Loyal North was the perfect fit for us.”

Simon Evans and Will Green, joint managing directors of H&D, said: “This acquisition marks the first step in our growth plans to build Loyal North’s South East presence into a £300m truly holistic Financial Planning business.

“Paul has built an excellent business and we are looking forward to driving the next phase of growth for our combined businesses.”

Loyal North manages over £1.5billion in client wealth nationally. The group acquires firms with strong local branding and leaves the day-to-day management and regulatory responsibility in the hands of local teams, it said.

Loyal North is part of the larger global financial services group of companies, Fusion Group.

The long-term strategy of Loyal North is to focus on growing the business by the acquisition of local Financial Planning practices while also investing in new technology to provide new ways to deliver advice.

Among the firms acquired by Loyal North in recent years are: Hertford-based GPFM Chartered Financial Planners; Financial Planning and accountancy firm Milsted Langdon Financial Services, which has offices in the South West and North East; H&D Financial Planning; Lowland Financial based in Scotland and MacBeth Currie, also based in Scotland. The firm also runs, an online advice and investment platform serving advisers called JustFA.

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