Wed, 08 Jul 2026 | BUSINESS SALE
Wealth management consolidator Fairstone Financial Management has expanded its presence in Scotland with a double acquisition and the opening of a new hub. The Sunderland-headquartered group has acquired Aberdeen-based independent financial advice (IFA) firms City Gate Aberdeen and Albyn Associates.
Following the acquisition, the two companies have relocated to Fairstone’s new hub office in Westhill on Aberdeen’s outskirts. The opening of the new hub marks Fairstone’s 13th office in Scotland.
Steven Cooper CBE, CEO of Fairstone, said the Westhill site would form the new hub for the group’s operations across Northern Scotland and described it as “a significant move for us in a strategically important area of the UK where we see great potential for further expansion.”
He continued: "Aberdeen and northern Scotland have a strong tradition of entrepreneurial, internationally connected businesses which are increasingly shaped by the energy transition.”
"We see this creating strong demand for the kind of sophisticated financial planning, private wealth and intergenerational advice which we specialise in. We’re looking forward to helping many more families and individuals in the region to make confident decisions to shape their financial futures."
Founded in 2002, City Gate Aberdeen provides a wide range of financial planning, mortgage and protection services to clients, managing in excess of £100 million in assets. The firm, which is headed by chartered financial planner & fellow of the PFS Alan Johnston, first partnered with Fairstone in 2023 through the group’s Downstream Buy Out (DBO) acquisition model.
Alan Johnston said the move to Fairstone’s new hub would provide it with “improved technology infrastructure, enhanced meeting facilities and enable us to continue to offer our wider range of services to clients.”
He added: “Since we first partnered with Fairstone in September 2023 we’ve really benefited from having the additional support and backing that comes from a major national group. It has freed our team up to be able to spend more time with clients and to help further build the business.”
Founded in 1988, Albyn Associates provides an array of financial planning and mortgage services, managing over £80 million in assets. The firm, which is led by independent financial advisers Colin MacLennan and Charlie Thomson, Albyn Associates, joined the DBO programme in December 2023.
MacLennan said that joining the DBO had enabled the firm “to meet increasing regulatory, technology and governance requirements, while giving us access to colleagues who are specialists across all areas of financial planning.”
He continued: “Our clients benefit from Fairstone’s whole-of-market relationships and national network and the group’s scale means clients can also access a wider range of products, often at more favourable investment terms.”
Fairstone's Downstream Buy-Out model is a textbook example of prioritising integration during a buy-and-build growth plan
Find out more about the shifting nature of dealmaking in the UK's wealth management sector
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