Sarah & Josh from Informed Financial Planning - GROWING

Situation

Informed Financial Planning was founded in Hull in 2004 by Kevin Ferriby and has grown steadily into a respected, award-winning financial planning firm. By 2006, they became the first firm in Yorkshire to achieve Corporate Chartered Status, an accolade they’ve proudly retained ever since.

After years of success, Kevin handed ownership to the board through a Management Buy Out, paving the way for the next generation of leadership. With Josh Richardson stepping in as Managing Director, the firm already had strong foundations in place. But Josh and the board had the drive and ambition to go further. They wanted to understand exactly how well the business was performing and where it could improve, so they engaged Melo to provide an independent review of their operations.

What we did

Informed Financial Planning was already a successful firm before engaging Melo. They were achieving strong results and serving great clients, but the business lacked clear direction and focus. The board knew they could go further but were not sure exactly where they were heading.

We helped the directors feel empowered in their new role as business owners and hone down what longer term goals they wanted to aim for together. We also helped them find the confidence to challenge everything about the way things had been done and to set a new course for how the business should run going forward.

We helped them create a clear vision, mission and set of values that the whole team could understand and rally behind. The board did an outstanding job of embedding these across the business, using them to guide decisions, shape reward and recognition, and influence culture day to day.

The new direction was launched to the team as “IFP 2.0.” The board were able to share the vision, mission, values and long-term goals with complete openness and honesty, explaining how these would impact every team member and securing genuine buy-in.

As part of aligning strategy to goals, we also helped IFP make the tough decision to sell a segment of clients who were no longer profitable to serve. Rather than disengage, we introduced a buyer and helped complete the deal, allowing the firm to focus fully on its target market in line with the new strategy.

In Sarah’s words

“The main difference I’ve felt from Melo is a kind of empowerment. They’ve helped us see that we truly own this company and can make a difference and can make it grow. They have given us the confidence to really challenge everything that we are doing; to move on from how it has been in the past and do it our way going forward. That has been very refreshing.”