New York-headquartered HPS Investment Partners (HPS) has become a majority shareholder of UK adviser platform group Nucleus.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Nucleus’ existing shareholder, Epiris, will retain a significant minority stake of the platform. International Adviser previously reported that Epiris has been looking to sell a stake in Nucleus for a while.
Nucleus said there will be no change to its business model or management team.
Since the creation of the enlarged James Hay group in 2021, over £5m ($6.55m, €5.93m) has been invested in Nucleus’ service and £6m is committed to platform development for 2022.
Nucleus added: “Nucleus will continue to use its existing scale to further invest in products, service and price, underpinned by innovative technology, for the benefit of advisers and their clients.”
The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Vote of confidence
Richard Rowney, Nucleus chief executive, said: “My whole team and I have really enjoyed working with Epiris to deliver the vision set out for this business in 2019.
“We’re now delighted to welcome HPS as the new majority investor and look forward to working with both them and Epiris as we continue to progress our exciting vision. It has been obvious from an early stage that their ambition for the business and commitment to support me and my management team to grow the business meant we are all completely aligned.
“While today’s news will not result in any immediate practical change, it is certainly a vote of confidence, not just in our strategy, but also in our people – the 650 dedicated colleagues who make up our business, with a sole focus of supporting advisers, and helping them make retirement more rewarding for their clients.
“We’ll now continue our important work of ensuring the basics of platform provision are right; serving advisers properly, executing orders on behalf of their clients and ensuring the financial plans they’ve designed can be effectively delivered. At the same time, we’ll continue to share the benefits that come from economies of scale with our customers, investing in giving them better products, better service and better prices.”
HPS is a long-term investor in the UK advice and wealth management space, as it currently owns 22% in Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management UK.
