In the first quarter, Quilter, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s (MSSB) UK retail wealth management business hinted at more acquisitions after it was brought by private equity group Bridgepoint.
Quilter’s CEO Martin Baines confirmed it was in exclusive discussions with Cheviot Asset Management and expect to be able to provide more information in due course.
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Baines did not give any further information on the discussions.
Bridgepoint were rumoured to have paid in the region of about £175m for the deal in February, beating Permira, another private equity house, to the table.
Ownership changes
Quilter who specialise in private clients with £200,000 to £3m to invest, has seen a number of ownership changes over the years.
It was first acquired by France’s Banque Paribas in 1986, since then it has had multiple owners including Commercial Union now Aviva.
It was also originally sold to Morgan Stanley in 2000 but later sold to Citigroup.
However, it came back into Morgan Stanley after the two American banks formed the wealth joint venture; Morgan Stanley Smith Barney with Citigroup in 2009.
Quilter is based in 13 locations throughout the UK, Jersey and Ireland and employs about 350 staff.
