St Barts Finance, financial advice on the south coast of England

St Barts Finance is a financial advisory firm founded in June 2009 by its CEO, Steve Bartholomew. The company was created with the aim of making face-to-face financial advice accessible at a time and place convenient for the client, and has since grown to manage several branches along the south coast of the United Kingdom. According to its own presentation, it serves thousands of clients each year and maintains an expanding network of offices.

The firm is part of The Openwork Partnership and has incorporated several Yorkshire Building Society agencies into its operations, which it runs alongside its own business. The company stresses that the products and services linked to that relationship are not part of The Openwork Partnership offering and are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Areas of advice

The service catalogue is organised into four main blocks — pensions, investment, mortgages and insurance — plus a section of complementary services.

Pensions

Personal and employer pensions
Pension consolidation
SIPPs (self-invested personal pensions)
Annuities
Pension sharing orders
Retirement income forecasting and cashflow modelling

Investment

ISAs (tax-advantaged savings and investment accounts)
Bonds
Investment accounts
VCTs (venture capital trusts)
Inheritance tax planning
Estate planning advice
Cash savings accounts
Fixed rate/term cash bonds

Mortgages

Residential mortgages
Buy to let mortgages
Commercial mortgages
Mortgage capacity assessment
Bridging finance
Second charge mortgages
Equity release

The firm states that its mortgage services aim to find the right mortgage for the client's personal needs from across the market for first charge mortgages.

Insurance

Life insurance
Critical illness insurance
Income protection
Buildings and contents insurance
Private medical insurance
Commercial insurance, including public liability

Other services

Wills, trusts and power of attorney
Conveyancing and legal advice
Accountancy services
Estate agency services
Energy performance certificates
Surveying

Appointment options and branch network

The company offers face-to-face, telephone and video appointments across the United Kingdom, and allows bookings through an interactive calendar. Its branch network is spread along the south coast: Ferndown, Poole, Salisbury, Bournemouth and Southampton. The head office is in Ferndown.

Profile and reviews

Steve Bartholomew, CEO, summarises the firm's approach as follows: "Our main aim is to provide a service to clients that we would expect to receive ourselves. Customer service is 100% the most important part of the business." The team includes advisers such as Katie Hartley, Maria Bolger and Tom Oliver, mentioned in customer reviews collected on the firm's own website. Those reviews highlight reliability, knowledge and professionalism in mortgage and financial advice, as well as communication and a friendly approach, with particular mention of first-time buyers and remortgages.

Regulatory framework

St Barts Finance Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with number 6833744, with its registered office at 342-344 Ringwood Road, Ferndown, Dorset, BH22 9AT. It is an appointed representative of The Openwork Partnership, a trading name of Openwork Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The information on the website falls under the UK regulatory regime and is directed at consumers resident in that country.

Offices and locations

Ferndown office: 342-344 Ringwood Road, Ferndown, Dorset, BH22 9AT · Telephone: 01202 520550

Poole office: 133 Commercial Road, Ashley Cross, Poole, Dorset, BH14 0JD · Telephone: 01202 086111

Salisbury office: 15 Oatmeal Row, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 1TH · Telephone: 01722 442304

Bournemouth office: 99 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 1EP · Telephone: 01202 520550

Southampton office: 13 Above Bar Street, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 7DX · Telephone: 02380 011754

About St Barts Finance