Continuum opens new financial advice office in Wadebridge

A decade ago, Wadebridge had four banks on its high street. Today it has none of them. But the building that once housed the town’s Barclays has reopened its doors, and the people now working behind that old front door are backing the very high street the banks walked away from.

National financial advice firm Continuum has opened a new office on Wadebridge high street, serving around 1,000 local clients. The team specialise in mortgages, investments and retirement planning, and work closely with several local accountants and lawyers.

A founding team in a former bank

The office houses two of Continuum’s founding partners, Viv Swift and Darren Rowe, along with two additional advisers and three support staff. It sits in the former Barclays Bank building.

The location was a deliberate choice. Darren Rowe, Independent Financial Adviser at Continuum, said the high street had many strong advantages when the team went looking for a larger space.

“When you look at many local high streets you will see a lot of empty units, with businesses such as financial advisers, accountants and lawyers choosing to shut down their offices due to the depletion of footfall on the high street. Wadebridge very much bucks that trend,” he said.

“Wadebridge has a vibrant high street with retail units never staying empty for long. We have only just moved into our new office and have had walk-ins from day one with higher numbers than we expected. Whilst the four banks that were here a decade ago have all left the town, between us and the insurance broker next door locals can do almost everything they did at the banks, and we are proud to be doing what we can to serve the local community.”

Darren has worked in Wadebridge for over 25 years, with Viv joining him in 2013.

“Our expansion and success are what has enabled us to expand into this high street space, much of which can be attributed to the very engaged population and unique community spirit,” he said.

120 years of financial history

Viv Swift, Independent Financial Adviser at Continuum, said that when the pair heard the former Barclays building was being refurbished and split into two separate retail units, it was an obvious choice of location.

“The new office was built as a bank 120 years ago, with our front door formerly housing the cash machine. We now share the building with our landlord, a broker who has done a fantastic job of the renovation, which seems apt given the financial services history of the building,” he said.

Darren has spent over 35 years in the financial services industry, most of it in Wadebridge. He is currently part of the Wadebridge town team and has previously served as a Town Councillor.

As he plans his retirement, two new advisers are joining the Continuum Wadebridge team to ensure a seamless transition for his clients.

What clients are worried about

The team are seeing a clear pattern in what people walk in to ask about. Among the most common requests for advice are tax planning, concerns about geopolitical change and its effect on finances, and spikes in mortgage rates.

Clients regularly raise concerns about changes to Capital Gains Tax thresholds and the impact on the rural community, the inclusion of pensions within Inheritance Tax from next April, and the potential for geopolitical forces to affect investment returns.

The team are also seeing many existing mortgage clients with fixed rate deals ending soon, a number of whom are facing potentially substantial rises in rates.

About Continuum

Continuum, headquartered in Plymouth, was established in 2014 by founding partner Martin Brown as a national IFA brand offering a modern financial advice experience. The business is built around a three-way partnership between Continuum, the adviser and the client, where each party only succeeds and grows if the others do too.

Continuum runs an award-winning financial education programme and a client loyalty programme, and points to its Net Promoter Scores as evidence of its long-term client relationships, with its most recent customer survey returning a score of +90. Its in-house discretionary model portfolio service, My Continuum Wealth, launched in July 2021 to offer an exclusive Model Portfolio Service to Continuum advisers. The firm now holds assets under influence in excess of £2.94 billion.

In December 2020 Continuum was awarded ESG kitemark (ESGmark) accreditation in recognition of its approach to Environmental, Social Responsibility and Governance matters.

Continuum is a trading name of Continuum (Financial Services) LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Continuum (Financial Services) LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership.