Goldman Sachs Alternatives is taking a minority stake in The Private Office (TPO), the Leeds-founded financial planning firm that has grown from a local startup into a nationwide chartered advice business with an employee ownership model at its core.
The Leeds investment deal, which remains subject to Financial Conduct Authority approval, sees Goldman Sachs partnering with TPO’s management team led by CEO Stuart Phillips, who is also making a significant reinvestment in the business. Founded in Leeds in 2008, TPO has built its expansion on a distinctive model: training financial advisors through an in-house academy and granting them shareholdings in the firm.
Stuart Phillips said Goldman Sachs Alternatives was “the ideal partner” to support TPO’s ambitions. “We continue to build the UK’s leading organically grown chartered financial planning firm, with employee ownership and exceptional client outcomes at our core,” he said.
Leeds Investment Deal Validates Homegrown Talent Model
The Leeds investment from Goldman Sachs validates TPO’s approach of developing talent internally rather than relying on acquisitions or lateral hires. The firm’s in-house academy has become a pipeline for advisors who are trained in TPO’s methodology before becoming shareholders themselves — a strategy that aligns incentives and supports client retention.
Moritz Jobke, head of hybrid capital for EMEA at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, said the team had built something distinctive in the UK financial advice market. “We are very excited to partner with TPO and its founders,” he said. “Working with exceptional entrepreneurs is core to our hybrid capital strategy.”
The deal represents a significant endorsement for a Leeds business that has quietly built a national footprint without the fanfare of venture capital-backed fintechs. By maintaining its Yorkshire headquarters while expanding across the UK, TPO exemplifies the sustainable, profitable growth that appeals to institutional investors seeking exposure to wealth management.
Why this matters for Leeds
This investment demonstrates that Leeds can produce businesses capable of attracting capital from one of the world’s most prestigious financial institutions. TPO’s journey from a 2008 Leeds startup to a Goldman Sachs portfolio company validates employee ownership as a viable growth model and should provide resources to accelerate growth, potentially creating more high-value jobs in the city. For Leeds, the test will be whether this success inspires a new generation of financial services entrepreneurs or remains an isolated outlier — either way, Goldman Sachs’ decision sends a clear signal that the city’s professional services sector is recognised on the global stage.
