Fairstone, one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms, has seen a near 50% increase in revenue in its latest results.
This, said the firm, is thanks to a combination of organic growth and the success of its unique Downstream Buy Out programme.
Annual accounts just released for 2017 for the national financial advisory group show that revenue has increased to £47.6m, up £14.5m on the previous year.
Recurring income for the group for FY17 was £22.2m, up from £15.8m in 2016, representing 53% of advisory revenue, while funds under management increased by 29% to £5.3bn and client funds under advice were up by 14% to £8.1bn. Individual productivity per adviser also saw an increase of nearly 10% over the previous year.
Adjusted operating profits (EBITDA) which stood at £2.1m, a rise of £1.8m from the previous year.
Fairstone has over 300 advisers and operate across 40 offices nationwide, with the company’s head office based in Newcastle.
Fairstone CEO Lee Hartley said: “I am delighted to announce that the Group continues to make excellent progress against its core strategy and growth plan, with the trading and operational results in 2017 being ahead of forecast.
“In 2017 we delivered strong results across all areas of the business.Both our advisory and investment management businesses are operating profitably and with a complete absence of cross-subsidisation. Revenue and EBITDA* performance has been substantially ahead of the prior year in each channel.
“The DBO proposition continues to gain in popularity and has entered into a more mature phase of development demonstrated by the acquisition of five DBO firms in 2017 and an additional two completions early in 2018. There is a consistent acquisition programme in place which will see eight to 12 DBO firms being acquired each year.
“This considered approach, together with our proven business model and the significant financial backing that we have at our disposal, allows the management team and shareholders to look forward to 2018 and 2019 in an exceptionally positive manner.”
