Major firm to move from Brighton in shock departure

Four people will be made redundant and nine relocated at wealth management company Brewin Dolphin.

Staff learned their fate earlier this week with those still in a job forced to move to Reigate offices on Monday.

The closure of the Brighton office, at Invicta House, Trafalgar Street, comes six years after it launched under David Pegler.

A source close to the Brighton office said staff had been shocked by the news.

He said: “It’s a shame because I think they’re missing a trick. Brighton is one of the fastest growing cities in the UK and this office was one of the fastest growing in the group.

“A lot of effort has gone into building a relationship with the local community. Financially on paper it might make sense but I think in a few years’ time Brighton is the kind of place they will want to come back to.”

The company has undergone a major restructure over the last year with branch closures in York, Chester, Truro, Lymington, Dorchester, Stoke, Inverness, Teesside and Bournemouth.

Stephen Ford, head of investment management at Brewin, said: “The decision to close our Brighton office was not taken lightly, only after a thorough review to ensure our clients receive the best possible service and I am confident that all our clients will be very well served from the new merged office in Reigate.

“We have built up some very important business in the five years since we opened the Brighton office in 2009 and we will continue to grow this highly valued business in and around Brighton and throughout the South East from this new Reigate hub.”

Tony Mernagh, executive director of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: “The loss of any business is a pity but it isn’t difficult to see that Brewin has had a pretty torrid time since the recession and the Brighton office is just one in a long line of closures in other locations.

“It probably says more about the wealth management business than it does about Brighton.”