Quilter is set to make some 400 people redundant as it embarks on a cost-cutting exercise in the wake of its London listing.
According to British newspaper City AM, the advice firm has already made 200 members of staff redundant and a further 400 jobs will be axed in the future, although Quilter could not confirm this figure.
The redundancies have been planned since Quilter, formerly Old Mutual, listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 as part of an optimisation programme designed to deliver efficiencies and improvements in operational performance for the group.
The move intends to deliver around £50m ($70m, €58m) cost savings by the end of 2021.
But the redundancy programme was suspended during the first lockdown, according to the firm’s 2020 annual report, given “how difficult it would be for those seeking employment at that time”.
A Quilter spokesperson said: “We have spoken for some time about our focus to deliver an improvement in Quilter’s operational performance and ensure the business is lean, agile and well set for the future.”
They added: “We remain committed to supporting all customers and advisers and we retain one of the largest support teams in the UK. We’ve enjoyed strong new business flows following the platform upgrade and our service centre is recruiting in order to ensure adviser continue to receive the high standards of service they expect from us.”
UK platform bears the brunt
The redundancies largely hit those working on the group’s platform business following the completion of its transformation in February 2021. The re-platforming programme cost the FTSE 250 firm approximately £200m in line with expectations.
A Quilter spokesperson said: “Our platform transformation was a critical programme to help the business become simpler and more streamlined. As more processes are now completed online, we have made a reduction in headcount in back office roles.”
They added: “We have worked closely with our people to prepare them for the future, being open and transparent about a reduction in roles following our platform transformation and have put in place a support programme that focused on retraining and taking control of change and wellbeing.”
The platform was rebranded from Old Mutual Wealth to Quilter earlier this month as the firm consolidates all its business under the Quilter brand taken from Quilter Cheviot, the group’s discretionary investment management business.
As at 31 March, the platform manages £64.3bn of customer investments after it saw record gross flows in March, exceeding monthly sales of £1bn for the first time.
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