M&A Continues In UK Wealth Management Sector As New Hook-Up Is Announced

Tom Burroughes

4 April 2014

have announced a merger agreement, due to complete on 30 April and which is part of a number of M&A transactions in UK wealth management.

The firms will combine their investment teams with a total of £1.8 billion ($2.98 billion) in discretionary private client assets and platform based model portfolios, they said in a statement yesterday.

"The partners of Thurleigh Investment Managers and the majority of its staff will join Ingenious Asset Management. All the people critical to a continuation of the service Thurleigh provides to its clients will be retained," a spokesperson for Thurleigh told this publication when asked about potential impact of the deal on jobs.

The transaction, terms of which weren’t disclosed, has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK financial regulator, the statement said.

Guy Bowles, founder and chief executive, will continue in this position. David Rosier will continue as chairman of Thurleigh. Charles MacKinnon, co-founder and chief investment officer of Thurleigh, will become part of the merged firm’s portfolio steering group, which sets the investment strategy across the whole firm.

Among other examples of industry M&A was the recent move by Rathbone Brothers, the UK-listed wealth manager, to acquire two new divisions. It has bought Jupiter Fund Management’s private client and charity investment business and the London-based private client wealth business of Tilney Asset Management - previously owned by Deutsche Bank.