Gartmore, the UK fund management group equally owned by its management and private equity group Hellman & Friedman, has strengthened its distribution team with the appointment of Richard Turner, Money Marketing reports.

Mr Turner, who joins as account director for Gartmore’s UK retail distribution team, formerly worked for Williams de Broë, according to the publication. In his new role Mr Turner is responsible for the distribution of Gartmore’s funds to wealth managers, IFAs and third party distributors in the Midlands. He reports to Warren Shiels, Gartmore’s head of intermediary sales.

“Richard’s twelve years of financial industry experience with national IFA firms and third party clients in the UK will prove invaluable as we continue to strengthen our distribution alongside Gartmore’s broadened investment capability,” Mr Shiels is reported to have said.

News emerged last November that Gartmore had applied for listing on the London Stock Exchange so that it could subsequently use the proceeds to reduce its net debt to around £150 million ($243 million), along with allowing shareholders to realise part of their investment.

“We believe that a stock market listing now is the logical next step in Gartmore’s development. It will raise the profile of the group and provide benefits for our clients, shareholders and current and prospective employees. The fundamental prospects for our business are attractive and we have a clear strategy in place to deliver further growth,” said Jeffrey Meyer, Gartmore’s chief executive, in a statement issued at the time.