One of Hale’s many prestigious companies is Kellands, and they are planning for the future by moving their highly trained team to a smart new flagship office, a fabulous space to welcome clients.
It took three years to complete, but now one of Hale’s most iconic buildings has finally been transformed into a stunning new office workspace for Kellands Chartered Financial Planners.
The highly regarded company now has an enviable flagship office, right at the heart of the village. It is a natural light-filled contemporary space that’s set to future-proof the company.
It’s been a long road to completion, but the 30-plus-year-old firm’s move from Victoria Road heralds a new chapter for the 29-strong team, which manages over £1 billion of investable assets, and counts high-profile individuals, families and businesses amongst its 1,900 clients.
One aspect of what has undoubtedly been a costly renovation of the former Barclays Bank on Ashley Road is its connection to Hale and the community. Explains Kellands’ Managing Director Guy Kelland: “We wanted to make sure that, because of the nature and position of the building, the renovation would be sympathetic to the heritage of the village.
“Also, most importantly for staff, it had to be an enjoyable place to be, particularly post-COVID, where everybody was working from home. We wanted to give our teams the incentive to return to an office environment.”
Guy and Operations Director Paul Edwards believe that while working remotely has its advantages, it’s better for team building and development to be back in the office together, as well as the mental health of their staff to be part of Kellands’ culture, with their light and airy new office environment as a fantastic starting point.
“From my experience, when you have an advice-based business which is dependent on knowledge, it’s important to create a team-based environment to facilitate ongoing learning and support for everyone,” continues Guy.
“We have a younger-than-average team for the financial planning world – including a larger proportion of women – which is a different USP from other similar companies. We believe it’s an industry that needs invigorating, and that’s why two-thirds of our workforce is aged 40 and under.”
The level of training within Kellands is also key to their success, as not only are they a chartered company, but approaching 70% of the client-facing staff have achieved individual chartered qualifications.
“It’s the gold standard in the industry. You are trained to a more technically advanced level,” explains Guy.
“That’s another thing that sets us apart from the majority. It shows that our people are keen to learn and develop themselves, but also that they have been trained in the industry for a fair time, gaining a wealth of experience.”
“In most financial planning businesses, there are essentially three different strands of the business. There are the financial planners; they are supported by a technical team of paraplanners who are the technical researchers, and they are all underpinned by our administration team,” explains Operations Director Paul.
“The latter supports our financial planning team, so whatever strategy the financial planner agrees with the client, their recommendation is subsequently constructed by the paraplanners. The administration team are responsible for actioning trades, producing valuations, putting documents and packs together… all those types of things. It’s a crucial role, but all three roles are key to the success of any financial planning business.”
And while Kellands may not be as huge as, say, the big banking organisations, their clientele is diverse, ranging from corporate clients and small limited companies requiring business advice, to very successful families and individuals in need of financial planning advice and generational wealth planning. Acquiring such a welcoming office space is, of course, a reflection on how much Kellands values its clientele. However, visiting their base isn’t mandatory and not always possible for those who are time-poor.
The company prefers a face-to-face meeting at the outset so everyone can really get to know each other and identify their requirements, but after that, meetings can be effectively conducted on Teams or at their own home or office. Surprisingly, many of the people who contact Kellands will think they want one thing and learn that they actually need something else.
“It can help to see new clients in their own home environment and see what they have invested in before and what interests them, as well as making them feel more relaxed in their own space,” reveals Guy.
“All those things which enable us to identify how they live their life now and how it can be in the future. That’s what you are helping them to do when you sort out their finances, save them money in tax and help them plan their retirement, for example.”
Paul recollects one couple in their mid-50s who had 14 separate pensions/ investments between them, and they actually didn’t know whether they had the ability to retire.
“They were successful, busy people in their 50s and were worried that they didn’t have enough for their retirement because they didn’t know how much was in each account or what they actually had in terms of potential income in retirement,” recalls Paul.
“It turns out they could have retired ‘yesterday’, and they are now going around Europe enjoying their hard-earned and well-deserved retirement.”
Tel: 0161 929 8838 | www.kelland-hale.com
Kellands (Hale) Limited. 198 Ashley Road, Hale, Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 9SN
