SPONSORED CONTENT
Long-term – Azalea is led by managing director Harrison Smith( right), supported by his old school friend, operations director Andrew Bowden.
Innovation Centre one morning and said‘ let’ s try wealth management’. It has been building on a base from January 2021 when I joined another practice.
“ As part of Azalea’ s creation, we completed a business purchase from my previous practice, meaning we continue relationships with almost 100 clients already and we have built relationships up over several years.
“ The big point behind Azalea is that continuation of those, and we want to make sure they continue for years and years to come – and what is crucial is we can say that confidently because of our age.”
The numbers speak for themselves. Azalea launched with just shy of £ 10m-worth of assets under management. In the first six months of trading alone, this figure has grown to just under £ 12m as new clients have been drawn to their modern approach.
The chemistry at the top of the business is borne of a friendship that stretches back years. Harrison and Andrew share a love for sport – specifically golf and Hartlepool United – but their professional backgrounds are refreshingly distinct.
While Harrison is a seasoned financial adviser and a proud member of the Personal Finance Society, Andrew comes from a manufacturing background with a track record of scaling small businesses.
“ Andrew brings that fresh perspective from outside of financial services,” Harrison said.
“ Other professional services can forget sometimes that the people they are talking to aren’ t from that world. I wanted
to make sure Azalea has the balance between technical expertise and realworld application.”
For Andrew, his role is about translating financial services into a seamless client experience.
He said:“ I bring outside knowledge from outside the industry. I help to bring a bespoke approach in a different service to what is already out there.
“ I believe the reason a lot of people don’ t go and see financial advisers is because they don’ t feel like they can – and we are trying to expose financial planning to a new audience.
“ We don’ t want to take over the world, but we want to establish a successful business that is not limited.
“ We want to deliver a personal service, and we try to see clients face-to-face, and we hope to maintain that while also trying to scale the business.”
While the ambition is big, the focus remains local. Harrison’ s journey has taken him from a football scholarship at Francis Marion University in South Carolina – where he studied history and public
For more information or to book a no-obligation consultation, visit www. azaleawm. co. uk
we are excited to be part of the fabric of the business community across the Tees Valley for years to come.”
relations – into retail management and eventually finance in Northumberland. But the pull of the Tees Valley was always strong.
Azalea recently joined the‘ Monkey Business’ networking group, strengthening ties with Hartlepool United, and Harrison serves on the board of the Hartlepool Business Forum.
He said:“ I have been working in Northumberland previously, and I wanted to bring my experience and knowledge to Teesside.
“ Most of my life has been spent in Hartlepool and it is an area I am very passionate about. Sometimes the area is underestimated in terms of the power of its local business community, and we are excited to be part of the fabric of the business community across the Tees Valley for years to come.”
Azalea Wealth Management is an appointed representative of and represents only St. James’ s Place Wealth Management plc( which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’ s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’ s website sjp. co. uk / products. The‘ St. James’ s Place Partnership’ and the titles‘ partner’ and‘ partner practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’ s Place representatives. SJP Approved 18 / 2 / 2026
The voice of business in the Tees region | 71