ACQUISITION OF PACE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS

July 24, 2010

New future for Pace Financial Solutions after Pearson Jones plc acquisition completes

One of the North East’s biggest wealth management businesses has been acquired in a major deal. Final payment for Pace Financial Solutions Ltd, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, which was founded in 1986 and operates throughout the North East, has been completed by Leeds-based Pearson Jones plc.

The initial acquisition, for a significant but undisclosed sum, started in 2007 and has seen Pace Financial Solutions Ltd, which was founded by senior consultant, Peter Schofield, and has 12 staff and a £1.25m turnover, become a northern office for Pearson Jones plc, which is currently Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) International IFA Team of The Year.

Pearson Jones plc, which has 105 staff including 43 advisers, a £7.1m turnover and additional offices in York and Sheffield, is one of the North of England’s leading wealth management businesses and advises more than 2,000 private clients and 500 businesses with total funds under management of more than £1bn. The firm is one of only 281 IFA businesses – about one per cent – in the UK to be accredited Chartered Financial Planners by the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Pace Financial Solutions, which has been based at Bank Chambers, Kensington Road, Bishop Auckland for 23 years, originally had offices at Barnard Castle and Yarm, and has particular strengths in advising SMEs and high-net worth individuals.

Pace Financial Solutions’ senior consultant, Peter Schofield, 55, who will stay with Pearson Jones plc, says: “This is an excellent move for Pace Financial Solutions and its clients which will have significant benefits for both through being part of a bigger team with a wider range of expertise.

“We are proud of what we have achieved with Pace Financial Solutions during the last 24 years but believe that being part of a first-rate business like Pearson Jones plc will help us to move up to the next level. This is good news for us and for people seeking expert wealth management advice throughout the North East.”

Pearson Jones plc, which was founded in 1972, offers services including wealth management, mortgages, pensions and employee benefits, tax and trust planning, and recently announced profits of £805,000 for the year up to May 2010 in spite of unprecedented stock market volatility.

Pearson Jones director, Paul Scott, who leads the firm’s Pension & Employee Benefits Division and who will be part-based at Bishop Auckland, says; “Acquiring Pace Financial Solutions gives Pearson Jones plc an important foothold in the North East through a well-respected business with a first-class reputation.

“We believe that there is significant potential for extending top-flight independent financial advice throughout the North East and look forward to realising this following the completion of this acquisition.”