Nottingham-headquartered Wren Sterling has bought Knutsford-based advice firm Morfitt & Turnbull for an undisclosed sum.
The deal adds £270m ($328m, €313m) in client assets to the group.
The Morfitt & Turnbull team, which includes managing director Gareth Shaw, will work from Wren Sterling’s office in Wilmslow.
This is the firm’s fourth acquisition of 2022.
DFM permissions and hire
The deal comes at a time when Wren Sterling has received authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to complete the purchase of Mutual Financial Management.
This has given Wren Sterling the Wilmslow office and discretionary fund management (DFM) permissions, gained through the acquisition of Mutual Financial Management’s sister company, MFDM.
Former Mutual Financial Management managing partner, Austin Hutchinson, will become Wren Sterling’s regional director.
In other news, Wren Sterling has also appointed Rory McPherson as chief investment officer. He will primarily be responsible for overseeing the development of Wren Sterling’s DFM arm.
McPherson was previously at Punter Southall Wealth, where he was head of investment strategy.
Growth plan
The firm has been busy this year with acquisitions as it has also bought Critchleys Financial Planning and agreed a deal for HB&O Financial Services, creating offices in Oxford and Leamington Spa.
It aims to develop a national footprint outside of its existing locations, while supporting those firms that become regional hubs with additional clients and assets through a “hub and spoke” strategy.
James Twining, Wren Sterling chief executive, said: “The past few weeks have been busy as we have continued to deliver on our acquisitions strategy, alongside our investments in improving our brand and proposition and simplifying our business.
“Our goals are to build our national presence, which our new north west hub will do now that we have received change of control approval, as well as acquire high quality IFA firms to bolster those offices, which we have been able to do with Morfitt & Turnbull.
“I am also delighted to formally welcome Rory McPherson to the group. Rory brings a unique skillset to the business and in the brief time he has been here, our team and our clients have already benefited from his insight. Rory has a key role to play in developing the DFM capability the Group has through our acquisition of MFDM and ensuring that it delivers value for clients, and we are excited about the opportunity that this presents.”
In July 2021, Wren Sterling completed its second management buyout with funding from Lightyear Capital.
