And Opus Wealth Management Ltd, based in Calder Road, collected the award from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) after just a year in business.

Directors Richard Anderson and Janet Allen had worked together for around seven years at a previous company, and decided to pull on their combined 40 years’ experience in the industry to start a business of their own.

Chartered status means that the firm has a superior level of professional qualifications and has to adhere to a strict code of ethics. Mr Anderson said: “It is a tremendous achievement for us really. There’s only 350 other firms that have achieved this status and we’ve achieved it in our first year of business.

“It has been a busy year so it has been a double whammy.

“We now intend to build on this and continue to take additional qualifications.”

The firm already has a good mix of private and commercial clients and advises on generating income, buying financial products, legal and taxation strategies, dovetailing advice with that of clients’ solicitor or accountant.

Mrs Allen said: “In the main, our clients are active or retired business owners, but we also have a number senior management, solicitors, accountants, vets, and medical professionals amongst our clients, to name but a few. Most are in or around Lancashire, but we have clients in the Lake District, Cheshire, Yorkshire, the Midlands and Scotland.

Published in the Blackpool Evening Gazette 10/11/2010