Old Mutual to acquire Quilter Cheviot for £585 million

Investment management firm Quilter Cheviot, which employs about 40 people in Ireland, is to be acquired by financial services group Old Mutual for £585 million (€735 million), the company confirmed on Friday.

Old Mutual said the deal will generate £15 million (€18.8 million) in cost-savings by 2017 and would boost its wealth arm’s funds under management to £92 billion (€115 billion).

Quilter Cheviot, which is based in 12 locations across the UK, Jersey and Ireland, focuses primailry on structuring and managing discretionary portfolios for private clients, charities, trusts, pension funds and intermediaries. The firm had total assets under management of €17.88 billion at the end of September 2014.

According to reports, Quilter Cheviot had been weighing up a stock market listing over the summer, sparking interest from Old Mutual and a number of other suitors.

Brian Weber, head of Quilter Cheviot's Irish operation, said it was business as usual for the group.

“We are excited by the change of ownership and delighted to become part of Old Mutual. Being part of a FTSE 100 company will ensure continuity for our clients and will assist us in expanding the business further over the coming years. Our private client business continues to grow in Ireland as investors look to investment management teams such as ours who have a long-term proven track record of prudently managing investments portfolios.”

Quilter Cheviot was established two years ago when the specialist private client management business Quilter merged with Cheviot Asset Management, a company formed when Mr Weber and seven senior colleagues defected from Davy in 2003.

Old Mutual said the deal is “the final substantive part” of its plan to expand its services and will be funded by the recent IPO of its US business and disposals in Europe.

"Quilter Cheviot fills a significant gap in our business, allowing us to serve better the affluent and HNW [high net worth individuals] segments," said Paul Feeney, chief executive of Old Mutual Wealth. "We believe this acquisition confirms our position as one of the leading wealth management businesses in the UK, well placed to benefit from the current transformation in this market."

Additional reporting: Reuters