How to tell whether you need an exit plan or more support

If it feels as though every advice firm is either buying another business or being bought by one, the figures suggest you’re not imagining it. UK IFA merger and acquisition activity has climbed sharply over the past five years, according to Heligan Corporate Finance, rising from around 50 deals in 2020 to more than 115 in 2022 and a record 133 in 2025. Consolidators can therefore continue consolidating, which is fortunate given the clue in the name.

Private equity-backed consolidators and vertically integrated wealth managers have driven much of the buying spree, assembling national advice businesses one regional firm at a time. IFA consolidators accounted for around 27 per cent of buyers between 2020 and 2022; between 2023 and 2025, that share had risen to 55 per cent. Add enough firms together and, apparently, everybody becomes more valuable.

There are still plenty left to buy. Despite years of activity, the UK advice market remains highly fragmented, with thousands of owner-managed firms. Smaller businesses are attracting most of the attention: firms managing less than £200 million in assets accounted for 67 per cent of deals completed in 2025. For well-funded buyers pursuing a buy-and-build strategy, that leaves a lengthy shopping list. For owners considering an exit, there may be no shortage of interested parties.

Do you want to sell, or do you simply want some relief?

There are perfectly good reasons to sell an advice firm. Many owners are approaching retirement, while rising regulatory, compliance and technology costs have made independence increasingly demanding. A strong offer can turn decades of work into a deserved and orderly exit.

There is, however, a difference between wanting to leave the profession and wanting relief from the way you’re currently working. An owner drowning in suitability reports, technical analysis and administration may begin to see a sale as the only escape. Exhaustion wearing a corporate-finance tie isn’t automatically a succession plan; the business may simply need its existing owner to stop doing three jobs.

Before selling, it’s worth identifying what is really driving the decision. Are you ready to retire, reduce risk or realise the value you’ve built? Or would you still enjoy owning the firm if somebody else handled more of the technical workload? Those questions deserve a proper answer before the business joins a national group and the owner discovers that permanent decisions are rather difficult to reverse.

Outsourced paraplanning won’t solve every strategic problem or rescue a poor business model. It can remove a substantial technical burden without the cost and commitment of recruiting another permanent employee. The Timebank can handle the research, analysis and suitability reports behind the scenes, giving owners more control over their week and enough breathing room to decide what they genuinely want.

If you still love advising clients, don’t sell the firm simply because the paperwork has made you forget.