Liontrust, the London-listed investment house, is to expand its funds under management to more than £2 billion (around $3.12 billion) by taking over £604 million of assets due to its purchase of Walker Crips Asset Managers for a total consideration of £12.3 million, Liontrust announced today.

Under the terms of the deal, Walkers Crips managers Stephen Bailey and Jan Luthman will, on completion of the acquisition, join Liontrust and will continue to manage the CF Walker Crips UK Growth Fund, CF Walker Crips Equity Income Fund, CF Walker Crips UK High Alpha Fund, CF UK Fund and two institutional segregated accounts.

These retail funds (£441 million) and segregated accounts (£163 million) have a total of £604 million in assets under management, as at 29 February 2012. The WCAM name will disappear and the four funds will take on the Liontrust branding, Liontrust said.

When the deal is complete, WCAM will delegate its investment management responsibilities for the CF Walker Crips Corporate Bond, CF Walker Crips Select Income and CF Walker Crips Global Growth funds to an appropriately authorised company within the WCG group. “The principal reason for this [decision] is the high number of WCG group clients that are invested in these funds,” the statement said.

“The acquisition will cause little, if any, disruption for investors. The WCAM and Liontrust UK equity income and UK growth funds will operate side by side, preserving the different investment processes and styles which characterise each of them,” Liontrust said.

Liontrust Asset Management, which was founded in 1994, oversaw £1.489 billion of assets as at 29 February in UK, European, Asian and Emerging Markets equities.