Oxford: Charles Stanley merges offices to create 'super' branch at Botley

Wealth manager Charles Stanley is opening a new office in Botley, Oxford. The new office will move and merge the old Reading and Oxford offices, creating a new ‘super’ office better suited to servicing client needs.

Simon Scott-White, branch manager of the new office, commented: “Both our Reading and Oxford offices were restricted by their locations. Parking was inadequate, meeting room space was restricted and neither office was ideally structured for the infrastructure implementation that our business needs today. By merging the two offices we have created a regional hub that is better suited to the needs of our clients and a modern wealth management business. Our new office offers great square footage, modern facilities, more meeting rooms, is easier to access and closer to many of our professional colleagues in accountancy and law that are based nearby.”

The office site in Botley is one of the largest wealth management offices in the region spanning 3,355 sq ft. The new office, which was refitted at a cost of approximately £80,000 and opened in November, is adjacent to a number of significant professional service firms. The branch will support nine investment managers, an intermediary sales manager to look after regional IFAs, internal financial planning and support staff, a total of 18 employees; and Charles Stanley is looking to recruit a new support team member. The office will provide clients a full complement of wealth management expertise.

Gary Teper, head of Charles Stanley’s private client investment management division, commented: “For more than 200 years we’ve been helping clients manage their wealth and reach their financial goals. To do so we have to evolve and enhance the services that we offer our clients and how they can access them; technology plays an important role in this but at its core, personal relationships and interaction remains a vital part of our service. We are committed to our network of offices across England, Wales and Scotland, and see being part of local communities as being important for our ongoing success. That said, we also see the huge benefits of having offices which have critical mass and scale to ensure the highest levels of customer service. Bringing together the two high-quality teams from Reading and Oxford is a logical step that will enhance both teams and support even better customer care. We have ambitions to further grow and enhance our presence in the region.”