Wed, 01 Oct 2025 | BUSINESS SALE
Fairstone Financial Management, a major wealth management group based in Sunderland, has completed its latest acquisition with a deal for a financial adviser based in East Anglia. Norfolk firm Allen Tomas & Co currently advises more than 260 clients and manages £120 million worth of client assets.
The company has now joined 1,250-strong Fairstone, which operates from more than 50 locations. The two companies initially partnered in July 2023, through Fairstone’s downstream buy-out (DBO) programme.
Fairstone’s DBO model sees the group invest in a company, initiating a period of partnership, before later fully acquiring the business. The group completed its 100th deal in the DBO programme in June 2025.
Allen Tomas & Co is headed by independent financial planners Ben Allen and Michael Crisp (pictured above). The firm has been providing a wide range of services, including investment, retirement planning and wealth management, to individuals and businesses since 2014.
Fairstone Group Managing Director Russell Bignall said that Allen Tomas & Co’s “client-focused approach and determination to grow the business tallies perfectly with our philosophy and their location further boosts our presence in East Anglia.”
Bignall said that the acquisition underscores Fairstone’s “dedication to expanding our footprint on a regional and national scale”, adding that the group was targeting “growing client assets under management from £20bn to £40bn over the next five years” and was seeking “to partner with similarly ambitious, forward-thinking firms right across the UK and Ireland with increased valuations on offer for growth-focused wealth advisers.”
He continued: "Our DBO model remains a compelling choice for ambitious firms pursuing sustainable growth and improved client outcomes. In the past two years, the average value received by firms after earn-out has been 120 per cent, with the most successful firm hitting 180 per cent."
Ben Allen of Allen Tomas & Co said that joining Fairstone would mean that “clients will be able to benefit from the support, reassurance and IT capabilities of a major national firm while still getting personalised advice informed by our local knowledge and understanding of the area.”
Allen said that he and Michael Crisp would retain their chartered independent status, meaning that they will be able to continue providing clients with unbiased advice and recommend products from across the market.
He added that “with Fairstone's head office team providing support on compliance and regulatory matters, it frees up more of our time to concentrate on advising clients, growing the business and working closely with professional connections."
Find out more about Fairstone's downstream buy-out model
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