The Great Business Transfer

AI generated estimates are wide ranging but suggest in the next five years 400 – 600 firms will be involved in selling or acquisition; 1,500 – 2,500 business owners will be retiring or exiting; 12,000 – 15,000 individual advisers will be retiring; only 2,500 – 3,500 new advisers will enter the sector*

From its 2025 advice firms survey the FCA reinforces, “Consolidation continues to reshape the market, and around a third of the largest firms are looking to acquire another firm or its client bank in the next 2 years.”**

This is The Great Business Transfer. It’s success, or not, will directly shape the future success of financial planning in the UK. If we navigate it well, clients are protected, talent pathways strengthen, trust deepens, and the profession becomes more resilient and accessible.

If we navigate it poorly, clients feel sold, cultural misalignment increases, talent leaves and public trust erodes.

This series presents the opportunity we all have to shape the future of financial planning in the UK. Our aim is to encourage deep thinking into the topic of succession. Each business that changes hands carries clients, careers and reputations with it. If we approach this moment carelessly, we risk weakening everything we have worked to build. If we approach it with collective responsibility, we will not just transfer businesses, we will strengthen the profession.

*Market data compiled and analysed using Claude (Anthropic AI assistant), April 2026, drawing on publicly available industry research.

**Understanding the advice market: financial advice firms survey 2025 capturing responses from over 4,100 firms and an analysis of data held on around 31,000 registered financial advisers.