M&G will take an initial stake of 49.9% with an agreement in place to take the remainder over the following two years.

It confirmed there’s no change for existing customers and Continuum will retain its name.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and as such, no timescale on the completion can be given at this stage.

Plymouth-based Continuum was launched in 2014 by Martin Brown and now has 60 independent financial advisers operating nationally.

The firm has assets under influence in excess of £1.5bn and more than 12,000 clients.

M&G Wealth was formed in September 2020 and aims to grow its advisers to around 1,000 over the next five years.

The acquisition of Continuum takes M&G Wealth’s total advisers to around 500.

David Montgomery, managing director at M&G Wealth, said: “This was an unmissable opportunity to partner with another fast-growing, top quality independent financial advice business. Continuum has highly experienced leadership and advice teams and has demonstrated a clearly defined strategy to deliver comprehensive solutions to their clients. We are excited to be able to support their strong ongoing growth plans.

“We want our advice services to be accessible to everyone which is core to the Continuum philosophy. This is vital for the financial services industry as we collectively seek to address the advice gap. Financial advice should not be just for the wealthy – it must be trusted, welcoming, unintimidating and should seek to deliver best outcomes and experiences for clients no matter their circumstances.

“Continuum has an outstanding brand reputation within the market and has a firm commitment to sustainable investment and working practices. Overall, it’s a great cultural fit with our existing advice businesses.”

Martin Brown, managing partner at Continuum, added: “Through market opportunities created by the lack of distribution, an increasing demand for high quality financial advice and changes driven by the pandemic, we extensively reviewed our strategic options to increase our scale and deliver to this need.

“This development enables us to continue to accelerate the growth of our business sustainably, increase our national footprint of high-quality individuals and enhance our offering to clients and advisers. Ultimately, this allows us to deliver a greater reach to best fulfil the growing advice need in the market.

“Importantly this ensures Continuum will progress its long-term ambitions of becoming a household brand and importantly a ‘home for life’ for clients, advisers, staff and future generations to come.”