Sequence Financial Management, a Cheshire-based wealth management firm that specialised in pensions and investments, has entered administration.

Founded in 2010, the small team operated in the Cheshire town of Northwich and offered clients a range of services from basic financial planning, to wealth management, pension reviews, and corporate advice.

Led by managing director Robert Eskild Colin, the firm quickly found its footing following the global malaise of the Great Recession, and within two years the company had rumoured funds of £20m.

If the company’s last filleted unaudited accounts for the year to September 30, 2019, are to be believed, the firm employed 12 staff.

The administrators

Spearheading the administration is joint administrators Andrew Poxon and Mike Dillon, from the Manchester office of Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group, one of a 19-strong office network that services both the UK and the Channel Islands.

The company was appointed on August 12 and revealed on their website that Sequence had already ceased trading before seeking their counsel.

The statement added: “Please note that the company ceased to trade prior to our appointment.”

It continued that all enquiries regarding the administration should be directed to Leonard Curtis’ Manchester office.

A rocky road for SEMS

Sequence Financial Management, like many financial planning firms, has been hit hard by the global COVID-19 pandemic. White-collar industries, usually a bedrock of a post-Thatcher service economy, are now falling by the wayside at an unprecedented rate.

On top of a global health emergency, the Northwich company’s predominantly small and medium-sized business base made them especially susceptible to a negative ripple effect from the inordinate number of SMEs shutting shop in the wake of COVID-19.

Speaking to the FT, Tej Parikh, a leading economist at the Institute of Directors, warned that office-based professions within administrative and middle management were facing the worst jobs crisis since the early 1990s recession.

“These were important jobs before COVID but may now be seen as areas to cut costs,” Parikh said.

Ged Mason, CEO of recruitment firm Morson Group and a leading partner at the charitable campaign group Keep Britain Working stressed how important a role Sequence’s client base plays in the economy.

“White-collar roles are the backbone of our economy, providing a wealth of employment for many people within vast communities,” he said.

“The fall in these roles will have impacted many. There is a reshaping of the economy and the work that we do at Keep Britain Working demonstrates that these roles are taking longer to bounce back.”

For the latest updates on administrators handling collapses like this, stay one step ahead and subscribe to Administration List today.