Fri, 17 Jul 2026 | BUSINESS SALE
Sunderland-headquartered wealth management group Fairstone Financial Management has expanded with the acquisition of two financial advice firms based in the North East, with the deals bringing in £183 million in combined assets under management (AUM).
Grainger Financial Planning, which is also based in Sunderland, serves close to 400 clients and has £120 million in AUM. The company has been providing wealth management and financial planning services for over 15 years.
Morpeth, Northumberland-based Riverstone Wealth Management, which was founded in 2009, has £63 million in AUM and advises more than 65 clients.
As with Fairstone’s many previous acquisitions, the two firms have been purchased under the group’s Downstream Buy Out model, which involves investing in advice businesses during an initial partnership period, prior to completing a full takeover.
Both companies first joined the DBO programme in May 2024 and have now fully become part of Fairstone after completing their respective initial partnership periods.
According to Fairstone Northern Region Managing Director Steve Easter, the deals demonstrate the group’s commitment to continued expansion in its “North East heartland”.
Easter continued: “In acquiring Grainger and Riverstone, we’re bringing on board firms which share those values, strengthening our ability to support clients across the region.”
Grainger Financial Planning Principal Paul Clough said that joining Fairstone would enable the firm to grow, while continuing to provide clients with independent advice.
He added: “We’re really pleased to be joining Fairstone. As a company based in Sunderland, like ourselves, it genuinely feels like we’re coming home. The additional support we’ve received on things like regulatory and compliance matters has freed up more of our time to spend with clients and seen the range of services we can offer widen.”
Riverstone Wealth Management founder Mark Wiseman said that partnering with Fairstone had already enabled the business to grow its client base.
He continued: “We are already providing an increasing number of people with trusted, independent financial advice and I’m confident that this will continue now that we are part of Fairstone.”
Fairstone has majorly capitalised on a wave of consolidation in the UK wealth management sector over recent years and now operates from more than 50 locations across the UK and Ireland. The group manages more than £22 billion in AUM, serving over 60,000 wealth management clients with a team exceeding 1,350 staff.
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