The offer follows HL’s rejection of an earlier £5bn takeover bid from the private equity consortium.

The consortium comprises CVC Advisers Limited, Nordic Capital XI Delta, SCSP (through its general partner Nordic Capital XI Delta GP SARL), and Platinum Ivy B 2018 RSC Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The consortium raised its offer from 985p per share to 1,140p per share in cash.

Bristol-based HL is one of the UK’s biggest direct to consumer investment platforms with £150bn in assets under administration and 1.858m active clients (April 2024 figures).

Following the latest bid, HL’s board confirmed that it has decided to engage with the consortium and provide due diligence access.

The consortium will decide by 19 July whether to make a full offer.

HL’s board says it is focusing on its strategy and expects to update shareholders with full year results on 9 August. In the meantime, it has advised shareholders to take no action.

Some investors were unhappy with the firm’s share price performance in recent years, including one of HL's founders, Peter Hargreaves.

Deanna Oppenheimer served as chair for six years during which time the share price fell from a peak of 2,419p in May 2019 to 706p by the time she quit.