The Scotsman

Financial advisory firm bolsters Highland presence

- By SCOTT REID

A fast-expanding Edinburgh firm of financial advisers has acquired the wealth management arm of Inverness-headquarte­red legal firm Macleod & Maccallum.

Macleod & Maccallum Wealth Management will become part of Tweed Wealth Management, consolidat­ing the latter’s position as the dominant financial advisory force in the Highlands. As part of the deal, the legal firm’s directors will take on a minority stake in capital-headquarte­red Tweed Wealth Management. Financial details surroundin­g the deal have not been disclosed.

The move comes two years on from Tweed’s acquisitio­n of Inverness-based John Home Wealth Management with half of the business’ client-facing team now working from the city. Total assets under management across the entire business now exceeds £435 million.

Alison Welsh, co-founder and managing director with Tweed Wealth Management, said: “This deal is a big step forward for the business. It takes us to six client-facing advisers working from Inverness alone - but through our growth plans we believe we can get that up to at least 14 within the next three years. Macleod & Maccallum is a prized brand in this part of the world and for more than 50 years has served as a trusted partner to thousands of families in the Highlands and Islands.

“We are excited to grow its wealth management arm and believe that its clients new and old, irrespecti­ve of financial background, will benefit from using the service. The market in this region is incredibly entreprene­urial and has a buoyant economy so we believe there is still a lot of untapped potential.”

Peter Mason, joint managing director with Macleod and Maccallum,saidthedea­lwould serve as another opportunit­y to highlight the firm’s financial advisory services for its existing legal and property clients. He added: “Our ethos has always been to be able to help our clients at every stage of life, andtobeabl­etoofferou­rservices to each generation of a family. One of the attractive aspects of the Tweed team is that they shared our vision, and it was really important for us to have a partner with the reputation and track record of Tweed, and that we know will offer them a service second to none.”

Clients of Macleod & Maccallum Wealth Management will continue to be served by the Invernesst­eam,withadditi­onal administra­tive and back-office support provided by the Tweed team based in Edinburgh.

Thedealmar­kstweedwea­lth Management’s fifth acquisitio­n in recent years, following on from its deals to secure John Home Wealth Management, Melville Wealth Management, Stevenson-hamilton Wealth Management and Jamieson Wealth Management.

Chris Tweed, co-founder of Tweed Wealth Management, said: “We are one of the only chartered firms working in Inverness and our focus is to deliver unrivalled service and expertise for everyone. The potential to expand is truly exciting and I look forward to forming a formidable partnershi­p with the wider Macleod & Maccallum team.”

Tweed, who set up the practice with wife Alison in 2014, said the aim was to create a “forward-thinking”financiala­dvice practice that supports families and business clients as well as providing a wealth of opportunit­y for people to “achieve great things”.

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