Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Hargreave Hale, the UK based wealth manager and fund manager, on its sale to Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management (“CGWM”) for total consideration of £80m.

Hargreave Hale is one of the UK's leading investment management businesses, providing discretionary wealth management to more than 14,000 private clients, intermediaries and charities, as well as managing a first-class range of funds.

The transaction establishes a substantially enlarged wealth management operation in the UK and Europe for CGWM with over £18 billion in private client assets and £5 billion in fund management  assets.

Stuart Brookes, Joint Managing Director of Hargreave Hale, said: “Fenchurch’s deep wealth management sector expertise and intimate knowledge of the buyer universe were pivotal in enabling Hargreave Hale to select an attractive partner for our clients, employees and shareholders. We were impressed by the team’s dedication to this engagement.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Unigestion on its acquisition of Akina Partners, the Zurich-based specialist private equity investment group. Akina manages $2.6 billion in funds of funds and managed accounts invested in small and mid-sized companies in Europe.

Akina will be integrated into Unigestion’s existing private equity business to create a leading private equity investment group with $6 billion in assets under management and 54 dedicated professionals.

Following completion, Unigestion’s total assets under management increased to more than $23 billion, of which private equity represents 25%. This expansion demonstrates Unigestion’s commitment to building a world-class multi-specialist institutional boutique asset management firm.

Bernard Sabrier, Chairman of Unigestion commented, “Throughout the entire Akina transaction, the support and guidance we received from Fenchurch was highly appreciated. During the most critical times of the negotiations in particular, their transaction skills and strategic views proved to be very helpful.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised EFG, the Swiss Private Bank, on the sale of EFG Independent Financial Advisers (“EFG IFA”) to Bellpenny.

EFG IFA has offices in London, Birmingham and Wolverhampton with £650m AUM.

The acquisition has increased Bellpenny’s AUM to over £3.5bn and EFG IFA will become the new independent advice arm for the group under the BIA Financial Planning brand.

Anthony Cooke-Yarborough, EFG Private Bank CEO, said: “Fenchurch demonstrated first class M&A execution skills and a sure touch in navigating stakeholder interests. Their deep sector expertise and intimate knowledge of the buyer universe were especially valuable in delivering a successful outcome.”

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 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 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 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 advised TwentyFour Asset Management on the sale of a 60% equity stake to Vontobel. 
The transaction was announced in March 2015.

Established in 2008 in London, TwentyFour is a fixed income specialist investment firm with £4.4bn in assets under management as at March 2015.

Combining TwentyFour’s entrepreneurial culture with the stability, financial strength and global reach of Vontobel creates an excellent opportunity to accelerate the growth of both groups.

The transaction strengthens Vontobel’s presence in the UK and extends its fixed income capabilities. The partners of TwentyFour will retain autonomy over investment matters and day-to-day business decisions.

Mark Holman, CEO of TwentyFour, commented: “Fenchurch had become TwentyFour's trusted adviser through a long-standing relationship. Their strategic guidance, professionalism and deep understanding of our business and objectives proved invaluable in identifying the ideal partner and in negotiating the right terms and operating structure for our business.”

Fenchurch Advisory is pleased to have advised TA Associates, Banca Leonardo and management on the completed sale of 71% of DNCA Finance to Natixis for a consideration of €549m, valuing the company at €771m.

DNCA is a European asset manager offering a range of value-oriented investment products. Headquartered in Paris, it had €16.5 billion of AUM on behalf of French, Italian and other European retail and institutional investors as at December 2014.

DNCA is joining Natixis Global Asset Management, which operates a multi-boutique model with €880bn of assets under management, and will form a key part of its expansion in Europe.

Eric Franc, Chief Executive of DNCA, commented: “Fenchurch played a pivotal role in this transaction, balancing the objectives of all stakeholders throughout the process. We valued their advice and were impressed by their commitment, professionalism and support throughout the process. They helped achieve a successful outcome for shareholders, as well as DNCA management, employees and clients in what was a landmark transaction in the French asset management sector."

Fenchurch Advisory Partners is pleased to announce that it acted as financial adviser to Henderson Global Investors on the acquisition of Geneva Capital Management. Henderson will pay initial consideration of $130m plus deferred contingent consideration of up to $45m and a further growth-related earn-out of up to $25m.

Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Geneva manages US$6.3bn in mid- and small-cap US equities. The acquisition enables Henderson to expand its footprint in the US, adding investment capabilities and extending its institutional client reach.

Andrew Formica, Chief Executive of Henderson, commented: “Fenchurch understood our business objectives and, leveraging their sector expertise, played an important role in supporting Henderson deliver a successful conclusion. We particularly valued their input in developing and negotiating a deal structure which aligns the interests of all stakeholders."

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Northill Capital on the acquisition of a 55% equity interest in Longview Partners. 
 


Longview is a specialist manager of global equities, based in London and Guernsey. It manages $19.5 billion of assets on behalf of institutional investors. Longview will retain day to day operational control and its investment philosophy and process will remain unchanged.

Northill Capital is an independent, privately held asset management business established in London in 2010 by Jon Little, with substantial financial backing from trusts associated with the Bertarelli Family.
 


Jon Little, Founding Partner of Northill Capital commented: “Fenchurch were pivotal in choreographing this transaction. They introduced us to Longview and helped position Northill Capital as the partner of choice. Their sector expertise helped negotiate a complex transaction involving various stakeholders and structure a partnership that has created an attractive outcome for all parties.”

Fenchurch is pleased to have advised Sanlam on the sale of its stake in Intrinsic Financial Services to Old Mutual Wealth for an undisclosed sum. 


Intrinsic is one of the UK’s largest networks with c.3,000 restricted and independent financial advisers.
 


Lukas van der Walt, Chief Executive of Sanlam UK, commented: “We engaged Fenchurch to help us evaluate our options in the context of an approach for our stake. We were very pleased with the framework they developed and the final terms that we secured.”

Fenchurch Advisory is pleased to announce that it advised AXA on the sale of Bluefin Personal Consulting to Towry for an undisclosed sum.

BPC offers financial planning and wealth management services to individuals from its offices in London, Cardiff, Telford and Knutsford. It currently advises around 1,500 clients with assets of £500 million.

Fenchurch previously advised AXA on the sale of its employee benefits business, Bluefin Corporate Consulting, to Capita in 2012.

Paul Evans, Group Chief Executive of AXA UK, commented: “Fenchurch’s strong sector relationships helped to identify an ideal partner for BPC, ensuring a high degree of continuity for clients and employees. We were impressed with the depth of commitment and quality of advice that Fenchurch provided over an extended period.”

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