The hire of an advisory firm by the giant investor comes amidst rumours of a possible takeover bid, as the City's buoyant takeover and mergers market flourishes at the year end.

UK fund manager Jupiter has appointed corporate advisory group Robey Warshaw, this publication can confirm.

As rumours of a possible takeover bid surface, the firm has taken on the bank to help devise a £1.5 billion ($1.98 billion) strategy to protect itself from prospective bidders. 

The boutique investment bank, which hired former UK finance minister George Osborne as a partner in April, provides clients with corporate finance advice, including assistance with strategic matters and corporate transactions, according to its website.

It is understood that Jupiter has yet to receive an approach. Founded by John Duffield in 1985 and run by Andrew Formica, the FTSE 250 group has client assets under management of £60 billion ($81.8 billion), as at 30 September, but saw shares decline by 10 per cent during this year.

The company enjoyed total flows of £1.0 billion but saw outflows of £0.6 billion the preceding quarter, with its Global Equity Absolute Return Fund and Merlin multi-manager funds under-performing, mainly due to redemptions from mutual funds and continued reduced client demand for UK and European equity strategies.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2010 and valued at £1.3 billion, its previous owners include German lender Commerzbank, followed by private equity firm TA Associates. Its share price yesterday morning stood at 248.80p.

The reported interest in the company shows that consolidation is in the air and that the UK takeover market is buoyant as the year ends, with a number of mergers and takeovers worth billions of pounds taking place.

Rising markets this year have helped some fund management groups log improvements to their assets; meanwhile M&A activity continues driven by a need for economies of scale to handle rising costs and client demands. For example, WealthBriefing reported on Liontrust's acquisition of Majedie Asset Management last week in a tie-up worth up to £120 million. The first seven months of this year saw a 14-year peak in the numbers of UK takeovers, valued at £149 billion, three times as much as the same time last year, a number of reports have noted. In another deal, announced this week, Toronto-listed Canaccord Genuity Group agreed to buy the UK’s Punter Southall Wealth business, including its intermediary-facing brand Psigma, from Punter Southall Group.