Skerritts Group has rebranded and relaunched as Shackleton, a nationwide financial adviser named after the explorer Ernest Shackleton.
It has acquired four businesses: Save & Invest Group in Scotland; Fleming Financial in Bristol and Plymouth; Robson Lister in Sutton Coldfield; and Shorts Financial Services in Chesterfield. These deals follow the September purchase of Ellis Bates, which operates in the North of England and Scotland.
Shackleton has now made 15 acquisitions since Sovereign Capital Partners invested in the business in March 2021, bringing its assets under advice and management to £5.5bn.
More deals are on the cards. Paul Feeney, Shackleton’s chief executive officer, said: “We’ve launched Shackleton with the vision of bringing together into one business what we firmly believe to be the best, most professional financial advice firms from across the country. We are just beginning. There are other regional and indeed multi-regional champion firms, right across the country, who are joining us.”
The new brand is a response to waning trust in the financial advice sector. “For too long, trust in the financial advice profession has been eroded by the actions of certain established providers, whose business models were designed not for the benefit of their clients, but for themselves,” Feeney said.
“I am confident that our new brand will, very quickly, become synonymous with the provision of high-quality, affordable financial advice right across the country.”
As a case in point, Shackleton’s Wealth Builder proposition is designed to be an accessible and affordable financial advice service for clients with less complex needs.