Fairstone expands Scottish presence with new acquisitions
Fairstone has expanded its presence in Scotland with acquisitions of City Gate Aberdeen and Albyn Associates, as well as the opening of a new hub office.
Founded in 2002, City Gate Aberdeen provides clients with financial planning, mortgage and protection services, managing more than £100m of assets.
City Gate Aberdeen, headed by chartered financial planner Alan Johnston, first partnered with Fairstone in 2023 through its downstream buy out (DBO) programme.
“This will give us improved technology infrastructure, enhanced meeting facilities and enable us to continue to offer our wider range of services to clients.
“We have benefited from having the additional support and backing that comes from a major national group,” said Johnston.
Albyn Associates, founded in 1988, offers financial planning and mortgage services, managing more than £80m of assets.
The firm is headed by independent financial advisers Colin MacLennan and Charlie Thomson, and it also signed up to the DBO programme in 2023.
“Our clients benefit from Fairstone’s whole-of-market relationships and national networks, and the group’s scale means clients can also access a wider range of products, often at more favourable investment terms,” said MacLennan.
The two firms have relocated to Fairstone’s new hub office in Westhill, where they join the rest of the group’s existing operation in the Granite City.
Fairstone adds £2bn in assets through acquisition drive
Fairstone CEO Steven Cooper said: “We are delighted to welcome City Gate Aberdeen and Albyn Associates to the group and to opening our new office, which will form the hub for our operations across northern Scotland.
“This is a significant move for us in a strategically important area of the UK where we see great potential for further expansion.
“We see this creating strong demand for the kind of sophisticated financial planning, private wealth and intergenerational advice which we specialise in.
“We are looking forward to helping many more families and individuals in the region to make confident decisions to shape their financial futures.”
Shona Lowe, managing director for Fairstone’s Scotland & Northern Ireland region, added: “Opening the Northern Scotland hub is a real step-change for us in Scotland.
“With hubs now in Glasgow and Aberdeen alongside offices across the country, we are perfectly placed to provide many more people with financial advice for life’s most important moments.”
