New financial planning and wealth management firm launches in Aberdeen

Established as a partnership with no external investors, Lockhart Capital Management will have, as well as its Granite City office, operations in Leeds and London.

The five founding partners, together with Mr Innes, are Jon Bowes, Toby Alcock, Chris Cole and Andrew Wilson, who was formerly head of investment at Towry.

The partners said they are confident of their areas of expertise, gleaned from over 100 years of collective experience, which they said will be focused where they can really add value for clients.

The quintet will look to assign a limited number of clients to each partner to ensure a dedicated level of service and that as a niche company they will have the flexibility to react to changing market conditions quickly without being constrained by a large corporate structure.

Typical clients will include business owners and entrepreneurs, partners of professional services firms as well as individuals and families that have accrued significant wealth from an inheritance, major lottery win or business sale.

Lockhart will also provide specialised services to the recipients of catastrophic personal injury and clinical negligence awards.

Mr Innes said: “At a time of tremendous political uncertainty and market volatility, the need for personal, proactive advice has never been greater. The desire to offer a truly bespoke service will mean capacity is limited to a select number of clients. Our investment proposition is specifically designed to meet the challenges of today and to maximise the opportunity presented by the volatility in the markets. With no third party ownership, we, the Partners will also co-invest alongside our clients bringing an alignment of interests and a focus which is genuinely client centric.

It is an exciting time to be launching our own business and one we feel will resonate with individual/family wealth who are seeking a more personal service to both their financial planning and investment needs.”

The company said it has partnered with Benchmark Capital, which is partially-owned by industry giant Schroders, to provide technology solutions and support services.