The £145m acquisition of Nucleus by James Hay has received regulatory approval and James Hay said today the offer has today gone wholly unconditional with the deal now completed.
The non-executive directors of Nucleus standing down with immediate effect are: Tracey Dunley-Owen, Margaret Hassall, John Levin, Jonathan Polin, Angus Samuels and Alfio Tagliabue.
New directors being appointed to the Nucleus board from James Hay include James Hay CEO Richard Rowney, IFG group chairman Mark Dearsley and James Hay director Owen Wilson.
James Hay CEO Richard Rowney will lead the combined group which is believed likely to adopt the Nucleus name.
Mr Rowney said: “This deal creates one of the leading, independent, adviser platform groups in the UK with over £47 billion of AUA (Assets Under Advice). We see this as a coming together of the very best parts of both businesses, building on our retirement expertise and their digital capability to develop a service that truly meets the needs of advisers and their customers.”
As at 30 June James Hay had £28.3bn in AUA and Nucleus £18.9bn.
James Hay says that combining the best of both companies will create a “Financial Planning and retirement-focused platform with the scale to enable greater investment in products, price and service.”
The combined group will focus on both technology and offline service that can “compete at the winning end of the advised platform market,” it said.
James Hay said both platforms would continue to operate independently “for the foreseeable future” while integration plans are developed.
Details of the combined group’s plans, including the leadership structure, will be announced in the coming months.
David Ferguson, Nucleus founder, said: “Since 2006 we've always tried to do the right thing and put the customer centre stage. Actually meaning that has made us a little bit different from others in the sector but it also carried us to £19bn in AUA and led to this deal.
“We have full respect for the challenges ahead and are energised by the goal of working with our new colleagues to create the UK’s most respected and successful adviser platform.”
The takeover has been contested at times with four bidders initially showing strong interest in acquiring Nucleus. Nucleus staff have also expressed concerns about their jobs and the future of the business.