The majority of Duncan Lawrie’s UK loans and certain parts of its Isle of Man loan book were sold to Arbuthnot Latham & Co. for a cash consideration of £42.7m, which equates to 95% of the value of the outstanding loans of £44.9m.
While Brewin Dolphin has agreed to pay £28m for Duncan Lawrie Asset Management (DLAM), in a deal expected to be complete in the first half of 2017, and which will boost the company’s total assets under management to £36.1bn (€43.1bn, $45bn), including £2.5m in cash.
Duncan Lawrie’s owners, the UK listed conglomerate Camellia, said lower interest rates, its conservative risk appetite and opportunities for investment elsewhere in the group, had led it to the make the decision to sell off most of the loss-making Duncan Lawrie operation.
Camellia, which owns businesses ranging from tea plantations, aerospace manufacturing to refrigerated trucks. added that that both Arbuthnot Latham and Brrewin Dolphin shared the same high regard for client service as Duncan Lawrie did.
“In agreeing these sales, this should mitigate, as far as possible, the impact of these changes on clients and staff,” it said.
As a result of the transactions, Duncan Lawrie Private Banking services in the Isle of Man are no longer open to new client accounts.
An orderly winding up of Duncan Lawrie’s deposit taking and other banking operations in the UK and Isle of Man is also proposed. Following this sale, Duncan Lawrie is fully funded to return all cash balances to clients.
Discussions are also underway with a number of other parties in respect of the sale of Duncan Lawrie’s Isle of Man offshore trust services business.
Asset management moves
Seth Cowburn, head of wealth management at DLAM, will continue to lead the team of 19 staff who currently manage funds worth £735m for around 1,000 clients, most on a discretionary basis.
Cowburn said: “The investment management team at DLAM is excited to be joining Brewin Dolphin particularly given that its culture and investment style represent a natural home for DLAM.
“This was important in our decision making, and with the entire investment management team being welcomed by Brewin Dolphin, both continuity of service and the staff will remain unchanged.”
All 19 members of the investment team will move to Brewin Dolphin with 17 employees moving into the London office and two joining the Bristol office.
David Nicol, Brewin Dolphin’s chief executive, said: “DLAM is a high quality investment management business and the acquisition is an excellent fit for us given the shared business philosophy centred on a personalised approach to client service.”
