Nottingham’s Wren Sterling Group has acquired HB&O Financial Services, a chartered firm servicing over 850 clients with more than £250m of client assets, subject to FCA approval.
HB&O Financial Services, based in Leamington Spa, will allow Wren Sterling to grow further its presence in the region beyond its existing operations in Warwick, through organic growth and future smaller acquisitions in the area.
22 employees will join the Wren Sterling Group as a result of the transaction, including HB&O’s five chartered financial planners, two chartered paraplanners and mortgage adviser.
HB&O Financial Services boasts close links with the accountancy firm Harrison Beale & Owen Limited, which will be retained.
James Twining, Wren Sterling’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “I’m really excited about bringing HB&O Financial Services into the Wren Sterling Group. Jason and his team share our values, demonstrably delivering high levels of client service through their Chartered status.
“We’ve already made three strategic acquisitions this year with further deals to follow. This is accelerating our growth, bringing fresh ideas into the business, and giving us real presence in key geographic locations. The West Midlands, and in particular Warwickshire, has huge potential which we can now tap into alongside the HB&O Financial Services team. I’m keen for us to learn from their experience of building a fantastic business and presence in their local area and to support their team’s further professional development.”
Jason Strain, Managing Director of HB&O Financial Services, added: “Joining the Wren Sterling Group is a logical next step for our business after years of building under our own steam. The opportunity to benefit from the scale and quality of Wren Sterling’s central operational, finance, HR and compliance resources is really appealing as it frees up time for us to concentrate on doing what we love most – servicing clients.
“We recognised the same cultural traits in our businesses, which is important to me and my staff, and thanks to the strong synergy between our operating systems and the support of Wren Sterling’s dedicated integration team, we don’t anticipate any disruption to client service. In fact, we expect our clients to be able to benefit from being part of the broader Wren Sterling Group.”
