2plan continues expansion with Midlands office

National IFA 2plan Wealth Management is set to open a Midlands office manned with nine new recruits as the firm continues its UK expansion plans.

The Birmingham base supplements the company's existing offices in Leeds, Southampton and London and takes the number of advisers at the firm beyond 190. 2plan hopes to total 250 advisers by the end of 2009.

Birmingham-based corporate advice specialists Uniec Financial Solutions, which has nine advisers, has agreed to joined 2plan to kick-start the firm's Midlands operation.

Chris Smallwood, 2plan CEO, says a recruitment event is also planned later this month to further expand its adviser numbers in the region.

Smallwood says a trend of smaller firms seeking the refuge of larger organisations in the face of regulatory and economic pressures is continuing to grow.

"In the current economic climate, many organisations in the financial sector are having to downsize to cut costs or are finding themselves struggling in the recessionary climate," he says.

"We are getting a number of smaller firms - those with maybe between 10 and 30 advisers - contacting us and asking us what we offer. I don't think these same companies would have been getting in touch a year to 18 months ago.

"We're not exactly in acquisition mode but we are open to these conversations."

Last month, the national IFA said shareholders may have to wait two years until the firm is profitable, despite a huge jump in turnover in 2008.

The company turned over more than £3.2m last year, more than 11 times its 2007 figure of £281,000.

"We are not in a profit-making situation yet," Smallwood said at the time, "but we are well ahead of our business plan."

He said improving business at the IFA means it is becoming less reliant on investment from its major shareholder Standard Life, which owns 15% of the business.

2plan initially received £4m from Standard Life at launch and drew down an extra £1.75m late last year.

Smallwood says the company may require an extra £700,000 from the asset manager this year followed by another £1m next year.