Bridgepoint sells Quilter Cheviot to Old Mutual plc for £585 million

Quilter Cheviot, the UK private wealth manager, has been acquired by Old Mutual plc in a transaction totalling £585 million.

LONDON, 22-10-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Quilter & Co. Ltd (‘Quilter’) was originally acquired at the end of 2011 in primary buyout from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney when the specialist private client wealth management group had c.£7.6 billion of funds under management.

Since then, the company has undergone a number of changes that included the completion of the off-market £95 million acquisition of Cheviot and has more than doubled assets under management to £16 billion. Reflecting the company’s high level of recurring revenues, strong earnings growth and cash generation, the business also completed a refinancing in 2013.

Commenting on the exit, Bridgepoint partner Michael Black, said: “The step change in scale that we and management achieved over the last three years has more than doubled profitability and assets under management and generated significant inflows of new business.”

“The power of the combined Quilter Cheviot platform is well set to continue to outperform the fast growing UK wealth management market. Old Mutual’s strategic commitment to the wealth space and the power of its vertically integrated model will provide an excellent home from which it can continue to grow” he concluded.

Quilter Cheviot chief executive Martin Baines said: “This is an exciting moment for our business and clients. Our business flourished under Bridgepoint ownership and we were able to pursue our growth strategy and build strength, depth and scale with the merger of Quilter and Cheviot, and invest in our management team. Today’s change of ownership will allow us to flourish further.”

Advisers involved in this transaction included: For Bridgepoint – Evercore (corporate finance), Linklaters (legal); for management: Shearman & Sterling (legal).

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