Partners& has bought employee benefits broker Direct Healthline and entered into a strategic partnership which will enable it to work with advice firm Advo Group’s larger clients.
Terms of the deal to acquire Royal Wootton Bassett-based Direct Healthline are not being disclosed.
The firm’s managing director Isobel Skeates and her team will now join Partners& and report to Marcia Reid, managing partner of the Partners& wellbeing, engagement and benefits team.
Meanwhile, Partners& is assuming responsibility for servicing Advo’s larger corporate clients, which it said would allow Advo to focus on the needs of its SME clients.
Phil Barton, CEO at Partners&, said: “We are very pleased to welcome clients and colleagues from Direct Healthline and Advo Group to Partners&. It’s another great move, as we continue to build our employee benefits proposition.”
Barton added it was more important than ever for employers to ensure their employees were happy and healthy in their jobs.
“Having a robust employee benefits programme in place will help firms achieve their employee retention goals,” he continued.
“With our increasing number of employee benefits experts, we are perfectly placed to deliver for companies who need our experience and advice.”
Commenting on the sale, Richard Skeates, director at Direct Healthline, said: “From the day we first met Phil, we knew this was the right move for us, and the way the Partners& team has built trust and understanding has only reaffirmed that view.
“I speak for our whole team when I say we are looking forward to this next adventure and to great success in the future.”
Advo CEO Larry Bulmer added: “We believe Partners& to be a forward-thinking advisory business that shares many cultural similarities with us and possesses an array of capabilities that are in line with the longer-term requirements of larger, corporate clients.
“We are confident that Partners& can deliver the advice and service they need and deserve today and, in the years ahead.”
