Quilter locks in senior Cheviot staff as its seals £100m deal

Quilter is to merge with Cheviot Asset Management in a deal understood to be worth around £100 million.

The integrated firm will be co-branded Quilter Cheviot and headed up by Quilter chief Martin Baines.

The transaction has been funded and facilitated by Quilter’s private equity parent Bridgepoint for a sum around £100 million, a source close to the situation told Wealth Manager.

Subject to regulatory approval, the deal is expected to be complete at the end of this year.

Cheviot will add around £4.1 billion to Quilter’s total assets, which means the combined group will run over £12 billion.  

Following the deal Cheviot’s CEO Michael Kerr-Dineen will act as a senior adviser to the firm and join the holdings board of Quilter Cheviot.

It is understood founding partners will receive cash up front following the completion of the deal, while ongoing partners will receive a combination of cash, a deferred payment after three years and equity in the enlarged group.

Wealth Manager also understands that Cheviot partners and investment managers have signed employment contracts, while a working party has been set up to integrate the two investment processes.

Baines (pictured) said he hoped the deal will give the group the scale and resources to become ‘an even more powerful contender in the private client wealth management sector’.

‘We have made no secret of our intention to join forces with complementary businesses to accelerate our growth and there is a really strong fit between the two firms,’ he said.