A UK investment house has added a veteran of Japanese equities to its team.

UK investment house Martin Currie has received clearance to complete its purchase of the business assets and team of PK Investment Management, a London-based long/short Japanese equities boutique.

The acquired team is led by Paul Kirkby, who will be joined by Martin Currie incumbent Claire Marwick. Overall assets of the enlarged team are $425 million, Martin Currie said in a statement yesterday. 

Kirkby has also been appointed as lead manager of the Legg Mason Japan Absolute Alpha Fund, a Luxembourg domiciled UCITS fund, it said.

The acquisition was announced in November last year; financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Kirkby has managed Japanese equities for more than 30 years. Prior to forming PK Investment Management in 2002, he worked for Global Asset Management, or GAM, joining in 1985 before being appointed director in 1987. While at GAM Kirkby managed Japan long-only and hedge portfolios; he was firstly based in Hong Kong before relocating to London in 1992.

Martin Currie is an independent investment affiliate of Legg Mason, the US-listed asset management firm.