Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Camellia Plc (“Camellia”) on the sale of Duncan Lawrie Asset Management (“DLAM”) to Brewin Dolphin for £28m.

DLAM is the wealth management subsidiary of Duncan Lawrie Private Banking, the private banking arm of Camellia, managing approximately £735m of assets on behalf of some 1,000 client relationships.

Tom Franks, Chief Executive Officer of Camellia, commented:

“We were impressed by Fenchurch’s commitment to this engagement. Their deep sector relationships, intimate knowledge of the UK platform sector and first class M&A execution skills were important factors in successfully delivering this transaction.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised AXA on the sale of its UK P&C commercial broker Bluefin Insurance Group (“Bluefin”) to Marsh for £295m.
 
Bluefin is a leading insurance broker, providing services to private individuals, small businesses, and large corporates in the UK, with approximately 1,500 employees based in 45 locations. It also operates a broker network and a growing MGA business.
 
Marsh will combine Bluefin with Jelf to create one of the UK’s largest insurance brokers for mid-size and SME companies, serving over 250,000 clients in 80 locations across the UK.
 
Fenchurch also advised Jelf on its sale to Marsh in 2015.
 
Amanda Blanc, CEO of AXA UK commented “Fenchurch helped us develop a bespoke and confidential process which resulted in AXA securing excellent transaction terms through an accelerated timetable whilst minimising execution risk”.

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Legal & General on the sale of Cofunds to Aegon for £140m. Cofunds is the largest investment platform in the UK with £77bn AUA. The sale includes the Investor Portfolio Service which provides platform services to a number of building societies including Nationwide.
 
L&G concluded that Cofunds requires a significant upgrade in technology to exploit its leadership position in the UK platform market and this was best achieved under Aegon's ownership as a specialist wealth platform provider.
 
For Aegon UK this transaction completes its strategic transformation from traditional life insurance to platform business and follows L&G’s acquisition of a £2.9bn back book annuity portfolio from Aegon in May 2016.
 
Mark Gregory, Legal & General Group Chief Finance Officer commented: “We were impressed by Fenchurch’s commitment to this engagement. Their deep sector relationships, intimate knowledge of the UK platform sector and first class M&A execution skills were important factors in successfully delivering this transaction.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised AXA on three separate disposals of its UK Life & Savings businesses, comprising:

• SunLife, the Over 50s direct-to-consumer protection business, and Embassy, AXA UK’s non-platform investment and pensions business, to Phoenix Group;
• Elevate, the wrap platform business with c. £10bn of assets under administration, to Standard Life; and
• AXA Wealth International, the Isle of Man offshore bond business, to Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG).

The aggregate consideration for all three transactions is €832 million.

Paul Evans, CEO of AXA UK and CEO designate of AXA Global Life & Savings and AXA Global Health, commented: “Fenchurch’s advice was important in planning and preparing for the complexity of one, two or potentially three disposals and related separation issues. Their trusted senior relationships, authoritative insights into the M&A market and deep sector expertise were critical to successfully orchestrating all three transactions.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised AXA on three separate disposals of its UK Life & Savings businesses, comprising:

• SunLife, the Over 50s direct-to-consumer protection business, and Embassy, AXA UK’s non-platform investment and pensions business, to Phoenix Group;
• Elevate, the wrap platform business with c. £10bn of assets under administration, to Standard Life; and
• AXA Wealth International, the Isle of Man offshore bond business, to Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG).

The aggregate consideration for all three transactions is €832 million.

Paul Evans, CEO of AXA UK and CEO designate of AXA Global Life & Savings and AXA Global Health, commented: “Fenchurch’s advice was important in planning and preparing for the complexity of one, two or potentially three disposals and related separation issues. Their trusted senior relationships, authoritative insights into the M&A market and deep sector expertise were critical to successfully orchestrating all three transactions.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Computershare on its acquisition of UKAR’s mortgage servicing platform. The transaction also involves Computershare being appointed on a seven-year contract to service UKAR’s £30bn of mortgages. In addition, Computershare has entered into separate long-term contracts for the servicing of £11bn of assets purchased by Cerberus from UKAR in November 2015.

Founded in 1978 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1994, Computershare is a specialist provider of outsourced financial and governance services across 22 countries on five continents. It employs more than 15,000 people worldwide and has a market capitalisation of AU$5.5bn.

Naz Sarkar, CEO of Computershare UCIA, commented: “We were delighted to have Fenchurch acting for us on this highly strategic transaction. They provided a very wellresourced team that ably supported us throughout a long and complicated process with deep knowledge of the business, detailed analysis and thoughtful advice.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised AXA on three separate disposals of its UK Life & Savings businesses, comprising:

• SunLife, the Over 50s direct-to-consumer protection business, and Embassy, AXA UK’s non-platform investment and pensions business, to Phoenix Group;
• Elevate, the wrap platform business with c. £10bn of assets under administration, to Standard Life; and
• AXA Wealth International, the Isle of Man offshore bond business, to Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG).

The aggregate consideration for all three transactions is €832 million.

Paul Evans, CEO of AXA UK and CEO designate of AXA Global Life & Savings and AXA Global Health, commented: “Fenchurch’s advice was important in planning and preparing for the complexity of one, two or potentially three disposals and related separation issues. Their trusted senior relationships, authoritative insights into the M&A market and deep sector expertise were critical to successfully orchestrating all three transactions.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have acted as financial adviser to Lonmar Global Risks on the sale of a majority stake to Global Risk Partners. Lonmar’s management team, led by David Pexton, Chief Executive, will continue to lead the business and retain a significant equity stake following completion of the transaction.


Established in 1977, Lonmar is a leading independent Lloyd’s broker based in London. Serving a global client base in over 70 countries, including local intermediaries and insurers, Lonmar provides expertise and access to specialist underwriters and insurance capacity in London and other leading markets, worldwide.

Lonmar specialises in handling large-scale, complex and specialist risks, including Accident & Health, Agencies, Binding Authorities, Bloodstock, Casualty, Fine Art, Specie, Marine, Professions and Property.

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised the Openwork LLP on the renegotiation of Zurich’s equity and debt investments in the Openwork network. The Openwork LLP represents some 600 adviser firms and 3,000 advisers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Zurich will dispose of its 25% stake in Openwork by March 2020, by transferring it to the Openwork LLP, which is already the major shareholder.

The agreement provides a path to full ownership for the partners and staff, whilst at the same time protecting the network by retaining the capital and commercial support of one of the world’s largest insurers.

Fenchurch advised Legal & General on the sale of Suffolk Life to Curtis Banks for £45m.

Suffolk Life is one of the UK’s leading SIPP providers with £8.7bn AUA and 26,500 plans. Curtis Banks is funding the acquisition through a £27m underwritten placing and a new debt and revolving credit facility.

The combined business will be one of the UK’s largest SIPP providers with pro-forma £18bn AUA.

Mark Gregory, Legal & General Group Chief Finance Officer commented: “Fenchurch’s strong sector relationships helped to identify an ideal partner for Suffolk Life. Fenchurch’s first class M&A execution skills and their advice on the purchaser’s funding structure were especially valuable.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Oakley Capital on the sale of Broadstone to Livingbridge.

Broadstone is a leading, mid-market employee benefits consulting firm based in London.

Broadstone provides pensions, employee benefits, actuarial and investment consulting advice to small and medium sized employers, pension scheme trustees and individual pension scheme members.

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Congregational and General Charitable Trust on the sale of Congregational & General Insurance plc (“C&GI”) to Inter Hannover.

C&GI is a leading specialist insurer of places of worship. The sale includes C&GI’s interest in Integra the home insurance MGA jointly developed with Inter Hannover.

Margaret Atkinson, Chairman of Congregational & General Charitable Trust, commented:  “Fenchurch played a pivotal role in orchestrating this transaction, successfully balancing the objectives of multiple stakeholders and demonstrating a clear understanding of our  charitable status. Their senior team remained fully committed and provided valuable advice over an extended period.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Chenavari Investment Managers on the completed sale of a passive minority stake to Dyal Capital Partners for an undisclosed consideration.
 


Chenavari is a leading alternative asset manager focused on credit, structured finance, real estate and private debt strategies across the liquidity spectrum.  With offices in London, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and New York, Chenavari has approximately $5.4 billion of assets under management on behalf of institutional clients. 


Dyal Capital is a division of Neuberger Berman, with an extensive track record of investing in institutional alternative asset management companies globally.


Loïc Féry, Chief Executive & Co-CIO of Chenavari, commented: “Fenchurch provided valuable advice to Chenavari, enabling us to select the partner who would contribute best to our strategic plan. Fenchurch’s understanding of the alternative asset management sector, the commitment of their senior team and quality of advice were key factors in delivering the transaction.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have acted as financial adviser to Just Retirement Group plc on its recommended all-share merger with Partnership Assurance Group plc, which completed today.

The Boards of Just Retirement and Partnership believe the merger will deliver significant strategic and financial benefits by using the combined group’s outstanding intellectual property and greater scale to accelerate existing strategies, whilst also creating the opportunity for cost synergies.

Rodney Cook, CEO of JRP Group, said: “Fenchurch’s life insurance sector knowledge, in-depth understanding of Just Retirement and senior team commitment were important factors in securing this complex merger and related equity capital issue during a period of considerable regulatory change. Fenchurch’s expert and independent advice helped us to navigate successfully all key transaction issues and align numerous stakeholders.”

Fenchurch was pleased to act as financial adviser to Jelf Group plc on the recommended all cash acquisition by Marsh. The 215 pence per share acquisition values Jelf’s aggregate equity share capital at £258m.

Jelf is a leading provider of insurance, healthcare and financial advisory services to the UK mid-market and SME sectors. Following its establishment in 1989, Jelf was admitted to trading on the AIM market in 2004. Capital Z became the company's largest shareholder through a secondary market transaction in 2010.

Since 2004, Jelf has delivered sustained growth in revenue from £8.5m to £82.6m in 2014. Growth has been achieved through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. 
 


Joining the Marsh group will provide Jelf with the opportunity to accelerate the achievement of its strategic and financial objectives and will enable its shareholders to realise value today at an attractive multiple.