Buxton’s single strategy sale approved

Quilter has received regulatory approval for the sale of Richard Buxton’s £27.5bn single strategy funds business as the wealth management business sets an indicative price range for its float later this month.

Old Mutual

|

The Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) transaction is set to take place shortly after the firm floats on 25 June, the filing says. Costs from separating OMGI and the multi asset business will total around £20m, Quilter said.

Quilter also revealed its share price range will fall between £1.25 to £1.55 when it floats. With 1.9bn shares to be made available, it is set to float with a market cap between £2.4bn and £2.9bn.

Old Mutual plc shares are due to become a mixture of Quilter and Old Mutual Limited securities when the companies demerge and are listed as separate entities.

Quilter said it will consider a distribution to shareholders following the OMGI transaction, taking into account the repayment of the £300m senior unsecured term loan and other costs associated with the separation.

Architas’ investment director Adrian Lowcock said while longer term the separation makes sense, in the short term corporate activities can be a distraction for the management team and fund managers.

Lowcock said asset and wealth managers should be highly prized as markets are around all-time highs and the economic outlook is pretty good.

Last month, Quilter’s independent non-executive chairman Glyn Jones invested over £645,000 in Old Mutual, buying 268,792 shares at a price of £2.406 per share on 30 May 2018.

Standard Chartered appointment

In a separate announcement, Quilter said it had appointed Ruth Markland as a non-executive director.

She has served over 12 years on the board of Standard Chartered, and over 10 years on the board of The Sage Group.

Markland is the seventh director to be appointed to the board since Jones became chairman in September 2016.