UK-listed Rathbone Brothers, the investment management house, said today it has acquired a 19.9 per cent stake in Vision Independent Financial Planning and its sister company, Castle Investment Solutions, for £2 million ($3.21 million).

The holdings were purchased from the founders of Vision and Castle: Roger Edwards and Paul Sweaton, and their spouses, Rathbone Brothers said in a statement.

Rathbones has also entered into a series of options with the founders which would entitle Rathbones to acquire the remaining 80.1 per cent of Vision and of Castle in 2015 for a mixture of cash and Rathbones' ordinary shares with a further potential deferred element payable at the start of 2018.  If Rathbones does not exercise its options, the founders have options to buy Rathbones' shareholdings back for the original £2 million paid. 

Vision is an independent specialist financial advice network focusing on high net worth private clients and with whom Rathbone Investment Management has an existing discretionary fund management panel relationship.  Castle operates as a sister company to Vision, providing it with certain administrative services.

In April this year, Rathbone Investment Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rathbone Brothers, acquired UK wealth manager RM Walkden & Co for an undisclosed sum.