Hartley Pensions has appointed a new chief executive who will lead expansion plans that will create 34 new jobs in Bristol.
Richard Valentine previously served as chief operating officer of Curtis Banks, the AIM-listed pensions provider with £32bn under administration, and director at James Hay Partnership.
He will succeed Denis McHugh who will step down this summer following seven years with financial services group Wilton’s pensions business.
Mr Valentine will oversee Hartley’s next phase of growth including the new hires, which will boost its total workforce in the city to 106.
Wilton group chief executive Tony Flanagan said: “Having secured Richard’s services at the end of 2021, it is great to be working alongside him to consolidate and grow Hartley Pensions’ position as one of the UK’s biggest specialist providers.
“His arrival and the commitment to create 30 new roles in our Bristol team are key to our long-term plans for the business, which will enable clients to benefit from increased investment in technology and increasingly integrated services across the Wilton proposition.
“I would like to thank Denis McHugh for his commitment and contributions since Hartley Pensions joined forces with Wilton in 2015.”
Mr Valentine added: “I am excited to take on responsibility for leading Hartley Pensions and ensure we become one of, if not the, leading SIPP and SSAS providers in the UK. The business has a rich heritage in the pensions market and its specialist expertise is a match for anyone operating in the market.
“My focus will be on driving change and innovation through technology and ensuring that the customer is at the heart of everything we do.”
The move comes after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) temporarily stopped the self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provider from conducting new business in March.
The regulator restricted Hartley from accepting new clients and instructed it to generate a new pipeline and to contact the top five SIPP providers to inform them the firm cannot accept further work from them, until the FCA is satisfied the ban be lifted.
Hartley said it has been engaged in “positive dialogue” with the regulator on this decision since and would provide further updates “in due course”.
Hartley has previously taken on the books of collapsed SIPP providers, including Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation, Berkeley Burke, GPC SIPP and Greyfriars Asset Management.
The firm, which is based on Marsh Street in Bristol city centre, launched as a small self administered scheme (SSAS) provider in 1981 and opened its first SIPP in 2001. It currently serves over 21,000 clients.
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