Fairstone appoints corporate development officer

Wealth management group Fairstone, headquartered in Sunderland, has appointed experienced mergers and acquisitions executive Scott Kirkby as chief corporate development officer as it targets further growth across the UK and Ireland.

Australian-born Scott brings more than 25 years of experience to the senior leadership role, having held positions with organisations including Bupa, NatWest and Credit Suisse.

His career has included leading internationally focused M&A teams in both the UK and US, with experience spanning deal origination, execution and strategic growth.

In his new role, Scott will lead Fairstone’s group-wide M&A activity across the UK and Ireland as the business works towards growing client assets under management to £40 billion over the next four years.

Scott, who joins from the global investment bank Houlihan Lokey, said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Fairstone.

“I was attracted to the role by the quality of the people within the business, the ambition of its leadership and the clarity of its vision to support more people to make confident decisions about their financial future.

“The business has already been hugely successful in expanding through acquisitions as well as organic growth and it has clear targets to accelerate that expansion further.

“I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues, both in the M&A team and more broadly across the business to help realise that ambition and continue building on the strong track record of success that Fairstone has already achieved.”

Scott’s appointment adds further strategic direction to Fairstone’s existing M&A team, which will remain in place as the group continues its acquisition programme.

Fairstone has acquired more than 100 independent financial advice and investment management firms during the past 14 years, primarily through its Downstream Buy-Out (DBO) model.

The group added more than £2 billion of client assets under management through eight acquisitions during the first three months of 2026 and expects to complete a further 13 deals before the end of the year.

Fairstone employs more than 1350 people across over 50 locations in the UK and Ireland, serving more than 60,000 wealth clients and managing client assets of more than £23 billion.

Fairstone chief executive Steven Cooper CBE added: “Bringing on board someone of Scott’s stature and reputation adds considerable strength to the business and speaks volumes about our standing in the industry.

“His experience and know-how will be an important part of our drive for further growth as we look to grow our AUM to more than £40 billion and become a UK top 10 financial advice and asset management business.

“We already operate one of the most successful acquisition programmes in our industry, having brought over 100 firms into the group via the DBO model.

“Scott’s arrival will give added impetus to our M&A programme as we execute a step-change in our growth over the next few years.”

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