Jupiter Fund Management has appointed an advisory firm as part of its defence against a potential takeover bid, according to reports.

On 11 December, Sky News reported that the asset management firm has not yet received a bid but that sources have said it believes it is "on the radar" of a number of potential bidders.

The board of Jupiter is reported to have hired boutique investment bank Robey Warshaw, which states that it provides clients with corporate finance advice and earlier this year appointed former chancellor George Osborne, in an effort to defend itself from a takeover approach.

Jupiter Fund Management declined to comment.

However, total inflows of £1bn were partially offset by outflows of £0.6bn in July, primarily due to redemptions from mutual funds and continued weaker client demand for UK and European equity strategies.

It also saw "outflows from our Merlin range and our Systematic strategies, predominantly the North American equity fund and a reversal of flows into the Global Equity Absolute Return fund".

At market closed on Friday 10 December, Jupiter's share price was 233.8p.