The CMA has approved the proposed acquisition by Nucleus of Curtis Banks, the last of all the necessary regulatory approvals required for the deal to go ahead.
The mergers and acquisitions watchdog stated that it had investigated the anticipated acquisition by Nucleus of Curtis Banks and has decided that it “does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002”.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) also have all issued their approvals.
Bringing together Nucleus and Curtis Banks will create a retirement-focused adviser platform with approximately £80 billion of assets under administration, used by nearly 5,000 advisers for almost 250,000 customers, Nucleus said. Adding that “in a market where scale is increasingly important, this transformational deal will enable further investments in technology, people, products, price and service for the benefit of advisers and their customers.”
For the immediate future both businesses will continue to operate independently and there will be no immediate change for advisers or clients of either business.
Peter Docherty, currently Interim CEO of Curtis Banks, will continue to lead the Curtis Banks business reporting to Richard Rowney, Group CEO of Nucleus. It is expected that in time, Curtis Banks will be rebranded as Nucleus.
Richard Rowney, CEO of Nucleus, said: “We are pleased to have now received regulatory approval, and look forward to completing this transformational deal in the coming weeks. We’ll then start working closely with our new colleagues at Curtis Banks to bring together our businesses and provide a best-in-class service to the advisers we serve.
“We’re creating one of the largest adviser platform groups in the UK with assets under administration of c.£80bn. Curtis Banks will be an important part of our group, bringing award-winning SIPP and SSAS offerings, which will help us in our purpose of helping make retirement more rewarding.”
The acquisition was approved by Curtis Banks shareholders in February and remains subject to a court sanction hearing. It is expected to complete in the coming weeks.
