Pension Matters joins financial advice firm Seven Bridges

North Eastern boutique Seven Bridges has added pensions consultancy Pension Matters has added to its expanding firm. The deal sees Seven Bridges’ client base grow by 600, while it hopes the move will help increase turnover to almost £2 million by the end of 2021.

Founded by Ryan Parker in 2014, Seven Bridges is a family-run consultancy, offering advice on pensions, investments, savings, tax planning and life cover for corporate clients and individuals. The firm has been rapidly expanding in recent times, having launched two new businesses in life insurance and estate agency work. Seven Bridges Life and Seven Keys have seen the company diversify into other sectors and grow its team and client base over the past 12 months – including the latter’s first acquisition in April 2020, which it is currently looking to build upon.

Now, the North East based Seven Bridges has chosen to bolster its core business, acquiring pensions and investment firm Pension Matters. The move brings with it a team of new employees, 600 new clients and around £110 million in assets under management. According to a release from Seven Bridges, having known the directorship of Pension Matters for many years, the company was aware that there was a cultural fit between the two firms, which would help make a union between them successful.

Seven Bridges’ Managing Director, Ryan Parker, said of the move, “The acquisition not only brings a large number of new clients to Seven Bridges, with whom we are excited to work alongside, but it also brings new employees with fresh ideas and in-depth knowledge of the industry. Their pension and investment offerings provide us with an increased level of diversity and new investment opportunities. We’re sure that this will benefit existing clients and those from the acquisition… Looking ahead, we are confident this acquisition will increase our turnover and profitability, allowing for additional hiring and investment.”

With the addition of new clients from this acquisition, Seven Bridges expects to increase its turnover to £1.8m by the end of 2021. Based in Team Valley, Gateshead, the Seven Bridges team will hope this boost to income will allow it to execute future growth and expansion plans in the next 12 months, despite having been impacted by the stock market crash and the UK-wide lockdown which has hit the whole UK economy, as well as the consulting market.

Parker continued, “The stock market falls experienced in March were the fastest in history and had a direct effect on client investments and company share prices globally… The changes we made to our business processes has made it possible to conduct valuable meetings with new clients from the acquisition and allowed for all of our regulated and required documentation to be completed for their financial plans. Long-term, I hope that we can continue to sustainably expand our client base, our employee numbers and our experience and knowledge.”