A Bury-based financial advisor has been shortlisted to win a women's business award.

Sarah Kendell, a chartered financial advisor at Walshaw-based firm the Financial Options Group, is in the running to win the "Adviser of the Year - North West" accolade at the Women in Financial Advice Awards.

She also previously made the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.

Ms Kendell, who has more than 20 years of experience in the sector, is an expert in lifetime mortgages and later life financial advice.

She is accredited by the Society for Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) and boasts an impressive 4.8 out of a 5-star rating on the independent review site VouchedFor.

She has been featured four successive years in its Guide to Top-Rated Advisers, which is published in the Times among other national newspapers.

In addition to her advisory role, Ms Kendell serves as the director of the Financial Options Group Charitable Foundation.

The organisation provides regular support to charities including Bury Hospice, Bury Cancer Support Centre, Caritas Red Door Bury, and others.

Ms Kendell has personally committed over a thousand hours to managing the Foundation.

She said: "These awards shine a much-needed spotlight on financial advice as a career for women.

"Our firm is helping to open more doors for more women, providing training and opportunities for the next generation of financial advisers.

"I’m proud to be recognised as an awards finalist this year."

Christian J Pepper, founder and chief executive of Financial Options Group and Ms Kendell's colleague of more than 20 years, said: "She is already a winner many times over in the eyes of myself and her colleagues, no matter the awards outcome.

"We all wish her enormous luck."

The Financial Options Group, established in 2006, provides comprehensive financial advice and guidance to individuals and businesses alike.

The firm is a founding member of the national network, Quilter Financial Planning, top-ranked from 2019 to 2023 for excellence in advice.

The firm's charitable foundation, established in 2018, focuses on charity support.