We are delighted to announce that we have recently acquired the employee benefits business of Truestone Asset Management as part of our aim to become a leading player in the corporate advice market.

The deal, which will see Truestone’s employee benefits team relocate to our HQ in the City, will take our turnover for the combined business to over £7m, and in doing so making us one of the largest independently-owned firms in the sector.

Truestone Employee Benefits was launched in 1986 to provide retirement benefits, flexible benefits, group risk and healthcare to small and medium sized businesses. Also based in the City, Truestone has built up a wide and diverse range of clients, all of which will be moving across following the acquisition.

Under the Helm Godfrey banner, the corporate adviser team will continue to be led by John Deacon, who joined Truestone as head of employee benefits in 2004 from Hymans Robertson. John will join the board of the enlarged Helm Godfrey business as a director, reporting directly to me.

This acquisition is a major development for Helm Godfrey and one which will allow us to compete in an area of the market we believe is set for considerable growth over the coming years.  The team at Truestone under John has built up a tremendous track record of delivering a superior service to the SME market which is reflected in the quality of the consultants and clients they advise.

The challenge now is to build on this, taking the enlarged business to the next stage of its growth and development in both the wealth management and employee benefits space and we will keep you fully informed of our progress in this area.