Gunner & Co.

What Gunner & Co. does

Gunner & Co. is a UK-based boutique M&A advisory firm founded in 2014 by Louise Jeffreys and headquartered in Bristol, specialising exclusively in the sale and acquisition of Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) and financial planning businesses. The firm provides end-to-end brokerage services to two customer segments: IFA business owners pursuing succession, retirement, or consolidation exits, and acquirer firms (consolidators, regional acquirers, and PE-backed platforms) seeking deal flow. Service modules include valuation guidance, sale preparation, buyer identification and shortlisting, negotiation management, and transaction completion, supported by a free 45-minute market overview consultation as the primary lead-capture mechanism and an Insights Hub of articles, webinars, and newsletters used for top-of-funnel education.

Revenue is generated entirely from transaction-based success fees, with a disclosed testimonial confirming that Gunner & Co. is paid by the buyer side rather than the seller. The firm operates with a lean team (1-10 employees, expanded by three brokerage hires in February 2024) led by Managing Director Louise Jeffreys, Head of Brokerage Gwill Evans, and Proposition Director Joshua Lee. Gunner & Co. has brokered at least 15 visible completed transactions between 2023 and 2026 across repeat consolidator clients including Lumin Wealth, One Four Nine, Wren Sterling, Skerritts, Integrity365, Foster Denevo, MKC Wealth, Perspective Financial Group, Ascot Lloyd, HFMC Wealth, and Shackleton.

The technology footprint is minimal and typical of a professional services firm: a website with content resources, Pipedrive for scheduling/CRM, and standard office tooling. There is no proprietary software, SaaS product, API, or disclosed AI/ML capability — the firm's differentiation rests on domain specialisation in UK IFA M&A, sector-specific deal experience spanning sub-£100M to over £1bn AUM targets, and relationship-based deal sourcing rather than technology advantages.

Name

Gunner & Co.

Legal name

Gunner & Co Ltd

Website

https://gunnerandco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gunner & Co. is a UK boutique M&A brokerage founded in 2014 in Bristol, advising on the sale and acquisition of Independent Financial Adviser and financial planning businesses for retiring principals and consolidator acquirers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Services M&A Advisory

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

akta.pro primary industry

Buy-Side M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAB)

Keywords

• Mergers acquisitions advisory
• Financial services M&A
• IFA business brokerage
• Succession planning advisory
• Financial planning brokerage

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. M&A Brokerage Fees: Gunner & Co. generates revenue by acting as intermediary in M&A transactions within the IFA and financial planning sector. Based on testimonial evidence ('Gunner & Co. are paid by the buyer'), the firm receives success fees or commissions from acquiring parties (buyers) upon completion of transactions, rather than charging sellers directly.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gunner & Co. is a specialist M&A brokerage and advisory firm focused exclusively on the sale and acquisition of UK Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) and financial planning businesses. The firm guides IFA owners through the full transaction lifecycle—from valuation and preparation through to deal completion—while also sourcing acquisition opportunities for buyer firms. Services are delivered as bespoke advisory engagements rather than packaged products, with revenue derived from success-based transaction fees paid by buyers on completion.

Product overview

Gunner & Co. operates as a single integrated service offering — an M&A brokerage and consultancy specializing in the sale and acquisition of IFA (Independent Financial Adviser) and financial planning businesses in the UK. The core offering consists of two primary service lines: Seller Services (including business valuation, sale preparation, and transaction execution) and Buyer Services (deal sourcing and acquisition advisory for acquirers). Supporting these are specialized modules for IFA consolidation, retiring IFA support, a free consultation service, educational workshops/webinars, and an Insight Hub providing market content. There is no software platform, SaaS product, or API — the company delivers professional advisory services exclusively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Highest win-rate in the IFA M&A market due to focus on quality opportunities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• St. James's Place: Major UK wealth management group with internal adviser acquisition capabilities. Operates in the same IFA-adjacent market but at scale; competes indirectly for IFA acquirer attention and is a peer for broader wealth management M&A.
• EY UK Financial Services M&A: Big 4 firm with financial services M&A capabilities, including wealth management and IFA consolidations. Targets larger-scale deals but competes for advisory mandates in the UK financial services consolidation space.
• Investec Bank (UK): UK mid-market investment bank with a dedicated financial services M&A practice covering wealth managers, IFAs, and asset managers. Competes with Gunner & Co. on larger IFA transactions but serves a broader financial services M&A mandate.
• KPMG UK Financial Services M&A: Big 4 firm with a UK financial services M&A advisory practice covering insurers, wealth managers, and asset managers. Overlaps with Gunner & Co. on larger IFA/wealth management transactions but typically operates at significantly larger deal sizes.

Emerging players

• Perspective Financial Group: UK IFA consolidator with active acquisition strategy, completing transactions where Gunner & Co. has acted as broker. Represents the buyer-side counterparties in Gunner & Co.'s deal flow.
• True Potential Wealth Management: UK wealth management platform with consolidator ambitions and prior experience acquiring IFA brokers (e.g., Cavendish Ware). Operates in the UK IFA consolidation space and represents an evolving competitor/customer dynamic.
• Foster Denovo: UK wealth management group that has acquired IFA firms (e.g., Rosemount Asset Management) via Gunner & Co.-brokered deals. Competes for IFA acquisition targets while also being a buyer-customer of the firm.
• AFH Wealth Management: Listed UK wealth management consolidator actively acquiring IFA firms. A buyer-side user of Gunner & Co.'s brokerage services and effectively a competitor in acquiring the same target pool of IFA firms.

Direct peers

• Cavendish Ware: Specialist UK IFA M&A advisory firm providing buy-side and sell-side brokerage services for financial planning businesses. Operates in the same niche as Gunner & Co. with overlapping client base of IFA owners and acquirers.
• Succession Advisory Service: Long-established UK IFA M&A brokerage, now part of Aviva. Directly competes with Gunner & Co. in brokering sales of financial advice firms, with similar seller-focused M&A services in the UK market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/louise-jeffreys-2a81448
• Xx.com/gunnerandco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gunner & Co.