Successful collaboration, at high cost

Historically, Centurion ran two major joint ventures with legal firms, WBW and Mogers Drewett. These operated as appointed representatives, with Centurion acting as principal and delivering advice to clients introduced by the solicitors.

The model worked commercially. It aligned incentives, strengthened relationships, and delivered strong client outcomes. But it also came with significant overhead.

Each joint venture required its own company structure, accounts, FCA reporting, and governance. Operational services were cross-charged, creating irrecoverable VAT. Admin and oversight increased with every additional relationship.

As Steve Smith, IT and Operations Director, explains, administering the joint ventures became a job in itself.

Centurion estimates it spent 20–30 hours each month managing governance, reporting, and operational complexity - before any client work began.

Referral data was also handled manually. Introductions from professional partners were passed to the admin team and recorded by hand in Intelligent Office. While effective, the process was time-consuming, error-prone, and slow to scale.

As collaboration evolved and new relationships emerged, the firm began to question whether running regulated entities was still the right approach.

Moving from joint ventures to structured referrals

Centurion introduced RQ to simplify professional collaboration without losing the benefits it had built through joint ventures.

Rather than creating new trading entities or appointed representative relationships, Centurion now runs professional introductions directly through RQ. All referrals are captured in one system, shared between firms, and tracked end to end.

RQ removed the need to operate additional companies, provide regulatory oversight for partner firms, or manage complex cross-charging arrangements. It also eliminated irrecoverable VAT and significantly reduced internal admin.

“It’s taken a lot of pain away for us in terms of getting relationships into a consistent referring process. It’s one system that deals with all our referrals. So, don’t take it away please.”

RQ also improved the experience for introducing firms. Partners now receive live visibility of referrals, regular updates, and automated fee payments — replacing sporadic reporting and annual reconciliation exercises.

By using RQ, Centurion retained the collaborative benefits of joint ventures while removing their cost, risk, and operational drag.

Lower cost, better data, stronger relationships

Since moving its professional relationships onto RQ, Centurion has:

• Reduced admin by 30 hours per month
• Consolidated 100% of referrals into a single system
• Improved referral transparency and responsiveness
• Accelerated partner payments by 4×
• Increased both referral volume and quality

The firm now manages eight active professional relationships on RQ, without setting up new joint ventures.

Referral data is richer and more consistent. Introducers provide more context, helping advisers have better conversations with clients from the outset. Partners are more engaged because they can see performance and outcomes in real time.

Some previously quiet partners began referring more frequently after onboarding, once commercial arrangements and visibility were made clear.

“Firms can see what they’re getting out of the relationship straight away. If you can see the value, you naturally put more into it.”

Scaling collaboration without adding complexity

Centurion no longer looks to joint ventures as its default collaboration model. New professional relationships now run through RQ from day one.

This allows the firm to nurture partnerships over time, assess alignment, and increase value — without committing to heavy structures upfront.

RQ has become embedded in how Centurion operates. Relationships are easier to manage, data is clearer, and collaboration is simpler for everyone involved.

“We’ve realised it’s easier to have people referring to Centurion rather than setting up a trading style or joint venture.”

By removing friction and overhead, RQ has enabled Centurion to focus on what matters most: building strong professional relationships and delivering better outcomes for clients.