The business will now be known as Tilney Smith & Williamson but its existing client-facing brands, Tilney, Smith & Williamson and Bestinvest will not be immediately changed.

The £45bn merger was delayed by both the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and regulatory concerns over the outcome of the deal. However, it has now completed after first being announced last year.

The group has more than £47bn in assets under management and about £530m in revenues, it said.

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The merged business employs 290 investment managers, 265 financial planners and more than 140 professional services partners and directors located across the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands.

The newly-constituted Board of Tilney Smith & Williamson is made up of eleven directors drawn from both the two previous boards and representatives of the group's major shareholders. The members of the Board, subject to regulatory approval, are Will Samuel (chairman), Chris Woodhouse (group chief executive), Andrew Baddeley (group chief financial officer), Elizabeth Chambers, David Cobb, Peter Deming, Keith Jones, Philip Muelder, Chris Pell, Carla Stent and Kevin Stopps.

Chairman Samuel said: "We are delighted to have successfully completed this major transaction against what is unquestionably a highly challenging economic backdrop.

"This is not only a transformational moment for both of the previous businesses, it is also a significant development within the UK financial services sector, creating a scaled-up group with an unrivalled service proposition that can support clients with the management of both their personal wealth and business interests."

Group chief executive Chris Woodhouse added: "Today, we have brought together two very successful and long-established businesses that are highly complementary to one another. Together they bring an incredible pool of talented professionals with a strong ethos of delivering exceptional service to their clients. This is a great foundation for the future.

"Since we first announced the intention to merge a year ago, a huge amount of work has taken place to identify our respective strengths and plan the integration on a ‘best of both' approach. Over the coming months, we look forward to integrating the businesses and creating a group that will be uniquely well-placed to meet the needs of clients."


Sourced from Professional Adviser - written by Jenna Brown

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