23 July 2020
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UK SIPP provider Curtis Banks is set to acquire both Talbot and Muir and Dunstan Thomas in a double deal worth a combined £38m.
The firm announced on Thursday that it planned to spend up to £25.25m on Talbot and Muir and that the total consideration for Dunstan Thomas is up to £27.5m. Curtis Banks said that will part fund deals with cash, while also raising £25m from shareholders through a new equity placing.
The Dunstan Thomas deal has already been completed, with the Talbot and Muir deal awaiting UK regulatory approval and dependent on the share placing being successful, the company statement said.
Acquisitions
Will Self, chief executive, Curtis Banks, said that the company was not finished in its bid to expand and add further acquisitions to its roster, should the "right types of business" to grow Curtis Banks in "the right way", come available.
"Talbot and Muir and Curtis Banks are excellent strategic fits and comparable in terms of culture, service offering, distribution routes and client base and further consolidates our market position as one of the largest UK providers of SIPP and SSAS products," said Self.
"We are confident this bolt-on acquisition will deliver materially enhanced earnings for Curtis Banks."
Digital
"We recently invested in a new digital platform, underpinning the launch of Your Future SIPP, and bringing Dunstan Thomas into our Group will deliver on our stated growth strategy. Dunstan Thomas is a fintech provider, and as our largest supplier we've worked with them for more than five years now."
Self added that the deal should give the company a boost in its dealings with the high net worth and mass affluent clients, calling Dunstan Thomas "a core enabler" for the company's future growth, both within Curtis Bank's current market and more broadly across the full financial services market.
Assests
Talbot and Muir is an independent provider of SIPPs and SSAS products distributed via financial advisers, with around 75 staff across offices in Nottingham and Leeds, administering over 7,000 pensions with assets under administration of circa £3.4bn.
Graham Muir, director of Talbot and Muir, said: "We have been considering a number of strategic opportunities and it became clear that Curtis Banks offered the ideal combination of safeguarding and providing opportunities for our valued staff, whilst retaining our Nottingham and Leeds presence and product range."
Fintech
Dunstan Thomas is a fintech provider delivering technology and business solutions, for wealth managers, platforms and providers. They already provide the technology and support behind the new Curtis Banks secure portal,
It is also has well-established, diversified client base across sub-sectors in the provision of retirement solutions with clients such us; Canada Life, Seven IM, Aegon and Novia, the statement read.
Chris Read, CEO of Dunstan Thomas, said: "After 34 years as an independent business, we believe it is the right time to join forces to create a new larger entity in the market with new propositions to take advantage of the changing shape of the commercial and economic landscape. "We see this acquisition as a positive step for all of our clients."
