Breakfast Event | Hosted by the Birmingham PFS Committee

About the Event

In today’s market, advisory firm owners are constantly approached by potential acquirers all promising opportunity, value, and an easy transition. How much of what you’re told or what you are hearing is really true & what is the impact on YOUR clients?

This independent session lifts the lid on what really happens when you sell a regulated firm, explores the alternative routes that could secure your income, your clients, and your legacy for the long term.

Hear from experienced professionals, ask frank questions, and share experiences with peers who understand what’s at stake.

Session One: “The Truth About Selling a Regulated Firm”

Delivered by Gary Shipway – Director of Gary Shipway Consulting Limited, an independent industry leader with nearly four decades in UK financial services.

With extensive experience in Acquisition strategy, succession planning, Adviser Recruitment, & Firm growth, Gary will share:

1. What really happens before, during, and after a sale
2. The biggest myths and mistakes owners make
3. How compliance, culture, and valuation truly intersect
4. Why selling might not be your only — or best — option

Session Two: ‘Building a Scalable, Sale-Ready Advice Business’

Delivered by Debbie Dry Head of Business Development at JustFA

In this session, we will explore the practical building blocks that make a business efficient, scalable, and attractive for future growth or sale. In particular, we will focus on how firms can:

1. Cleanse their client data and update their technology to keep it clean
2. Demonstrate on-going efficiencies within their business
3. Use modern client engagement tools as drivers for future growth
4. Apply different service models for different client segments

Round-Table Conversations over Coffee

After the sessions one and two, we’ll open the floor for small-group discussions on:

1. Have you been approached to sell — and how did it feel?
2. What’s your firm really worth, and how sale-ready are you?
3. Is your compliance framework helping or hindering value?
4. Could you bring in the next generation & succession plan, embrace tech and AI, and futureproof your business instead?

Session Three

Panel Q&A: “Rethinking Exit and the Future of Advice”

Moderated by Annabel Gray, Birmingham PFS Chair and Director at Sentinel Compliance.
Panellists include:

1. Gary Shipway – Independent M&A and Growth Specialist
2. Annabel Gray – Sentinel Compliance, on compliance matters
3. Simon Jackson – MAIA Asset Management, on client segmentation and investment solutions
4. Debbie Dry and Sasha Ilinskaia – JustFA / Loyal North

🕘 Running Order

Why Attend

1. Hear from independent experts with no vested interest in acquisition.
2. Understand what acquirers really value — and what they don’t.
3. Explore alternative exit strategies and succession models.
4. Network with peers who share your challenges and ambitions.
5. Leave with practical ideas to protect and grow your firm’s legacy.

Who Should Attend

1. Firm Owners considering sale or succession
2. Firm Owners considering alternatives to sale
3. Firms looking to partner with an existing firm

Speaker Bios 

Gary Shipway – Director of Gary Shipway Consulting Limited 

With a 39-year career spanning the full breadth of UK financial services, Gary Shipway is an experienced senior leader known for his expertise in business growth, acquisitions, adviser recruitment and how to get your business in shape for a future sale. He is a Director of Gary Shipway Consulting Limited, where he advises IFA firms, asset managers and acquirers on strategic growth, acquisition readiness, and senior leadership resourcing.

Across almost four decades, Gary has held senior and board-level positions within consultancy, wealth management, and a national advice network. His experience includes leading national adviser recruitment & acquisition at Quilter PLC, helping build a national Network from scratch to sale to a major organisation & ultimately to flotation. He has extensive hands-on experience of M&A activity, governance expectations, and cultural alignment within advisory firms.

Known for his commercial acumen and deep industry insight, Gary has built and led high-performing teams, delivered large-scale acquisition strategies, and supported numerous firms through periods of significant change, from single IFA businesses through to large IFA nationals. His approach combines strategic thinking with a strong commitment to ethical leadership and positive client outcomes.

Gary brings a unique blend of market knowledge, regulatory understanding and practical experience that makes him a valued contributor to industry discussions on growth, succession planning, and the future shape of financial advice.

Sasha Ilinskaia CEO of JustFA

Sasha has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, spanning investment banking and platform development, with a particular focus on building analytical and pricing tools and delivering large-scale infrastructure projects.

From 2008 to 2017, she served as Managing Director and Head of FX Research and Development at Crédit Agricole CIB, where she led front-office infrastructure developments supporting the bank’s pricing and risk management systems.

In 2017, Sasha joined Loyal North Group and co-founded the JustFA platform, bringing innovative technology and streamlined processes to the financial advice industry.

Sasha has PhD in Theoretical Physics from St. Petersburg State University was a Royal Society NATO Fellow at the University of Birmingham before transitioning into finance.

Debbie Dry -Head of Business Development, JustFA

Debbie has over 25 years’ experience in financial planning and wealth management, with a particular specialism in mergers and acquisitions. She has held senior acquisition and operational roles across multiple firms, including Integration Director at national consolidator Succession

Wealth, where she oversaw the acquisition and integration of 57 advisory businesses with more than £8bn in combined assets under management.

As Head of Business Development at JustFA, Debbie draws on her extensive M&A and operational experience to work with advisory firms on sustainable growth strategies. She focuses on how technology can improve efficiency, client segmentation and profitability — helping firms build stronger, more scalable businesses and ultimately enhance long-term exit value.