Stuart & Pat

We found Britannic Place when I ran a small florist, and I had a lovely accountant. When I was ready to retire, Stuart was thinking about it as well. I said to my accountant: “Who would you find to look after your money for your retirement?” So, we had a little conversation about what sort of money was involved and he recommended Steve.

We were rather confused about how to invest the money and wondered whether we were going to have enough money to see us through because our lifestyle was obviously really important. We wanted to continue with the lifestyle that we had. We wanted to make sure that there were enough funds to see us through until we end up in some sort of home.

The first meeting with Steve was really very interesting, as we’ve never done anything like that before. He was really thorough. He’d given us a book to read first, which was quite interesting. Stuart didn’t read it, but I gave him a quick synopsis. The book asked if you had enough money to last you for the rest of your life. Steve was happy to look into the finances and see whether we did.

Working with Steve at Britannic has been very structured, which has suited us. We’ve always got some idea of when the next planning meeting is. In between those meetings, when we’ve had minor issues about getting advice about extra money that we want to invest or taking some money away, he’s always there. He’s definitely accessible.

He’s got all the qualifications for financial investment that you would want in a person. He’s also a really amenable, likeable man. That makes a big, big difference, being able to talk to somebody on your level, and who understands where you’re coming from, and that’s an important thing now.

I’m really quite reassured about the future. Before I retired, I was concerned about whether the pension was going to stretch far enough, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. And some of the other money that I had, that we didn’t need straight away, has been safely put into some sound investments.

The words I’d use to describe Steve and Britannic Place are amenable and humorous. I think you’re allowed to be humorous when you’re in finance! They also have a great depth of knowledge, are extremely experienced, and very reassuring.

The best thing about working with Britannic Place is that we feel confident Steve’s actually providing the service we need. He’s an easy person to talk to, and very easy to communicate with.

I think the best piece of advice that Steve offered was: now is your time, and if there’s anything that you want to do and you have the financial means to do it, then do it. Don’t wait. Life’s for living, isn’t it?

I’d totally recommend Britannic Place, as they have the right set-up. It definitely suits us, and what we were looking for. Steve’s also very flexible, so when we change our minds about something, he laughs and sorts it out.