Close Brothers  

Close Brothers to sell asset management arm to Oaktree

Close Brothers to sell asset management arm to Oaktree
The £200mn deal is expected to complete in early 2025. (Hannah Songer/Bloomberg News)

Close Brothers will sell its asset management arm to Oaktree in a deal worth up to £200mn.

The sale of Close Brothers Asset Management is expected to strengthen the group's capital base. 

It intends to keep all upfront cash proceeds from the sale, worth around £172mn. 

Article continues after advert

The deal is expected to complete in early 2025 and is subject to regulatory approval. 

Mike Biggs, Close Brothers' chairman, said: "The transaction is expected to increase the group's common equity tier 1 capital ratio by approximately 100 basis points, marking  significant progress towards the plan we outlined in March 2024 to strengthen our capital base.

"The Board has unanimously  approved the transaction and believes that the agreed sale represents competitive value for our shareholders, allowing us to simplify the group and focus on our core lending business.

"CBAM has delivered impressive growth over the past years and has  developed into a strong franchise. Under the new ownership, it will benefit from additional resources to accelerate its growth trajectory." 

Close Brothers also published its full year results this morning (September 19). 

It showed CBAM has total assets of £192mn and saw managed assets increase 18 per cent to £19.3bn, driven by net inflows and positive market performance. 

However, adjusted operating profit dropped 23 per cent to £12.2mn which it put down to higher costs including investment in new hires. 

This week, Close Brothers announced group chief executive,  Adrian Sainsbury would be temporarily taking medical leave from the business. 

tara.o'connor@ft.com

What's your view?

Have your say in the comments section below or email us: ftadviser.newsdesk@ft.com