The UK arm of South African financial services group Sanlam plans to make its Marlow office a regional hub supporting growth in the surrounding Thames Valley area.

Sanlam UK is to relaunch its office in Marlow, Buckinghamshire as part of its plans to grow its footprint through 2016.

The Marlow office, which already looks after over £150 million ($213 million) of funds, will initially provide financial planning and wealth management services to its existing private clients in the region. It will also provide employee benefits and auto-enrolment advice to corporate clients, while serving the legal and accounting community.

Sanlam is looking to recruit additional financial advisors to join the Marlow team, which includes three wealth planners and two discretionary fund managers.

“2016 will see the launch of a new era for Sanlam in the UK where we will, I believe, take our place amongst the leading wealth management businesses in the country,” said Alex Morley, chief executive of Sanlam Wealth Planning.

“We have been building our presence steadily in the Thames Valley over the last couple of years and our revitalised presence in Marlow will strengthen that further.”

In December last year, Johannesburg-listed Sanlam announced it was combining all of its UK businesses into a single corporate entity, led by Jonathan Polin. Last week, it appointed chief financial officer Jeremy Gibson and former Ashcourt Rowan pair Steven Haines and Alfio Tagliabue to its senior management team. Meanwhile, former UK CEO, Lukas van der Walt, is set to become a strategic consultant to the group, advising it on development, mergers and acquisitions.