European private equity firm Nordic Capital is to acquire Financial Planning firm Ascot Lloyd from current owners Oaktree Capital Management for an undisclosed sum.

Nordic will also acquire the interests in Ascot Lloyd held by Ares Management Corporation.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Ascot Lloyd will use the investment from Nordic Capital to further develop its digital proposition, increase its focus on sustainable savings, and consider potential acquisition opportunities.

Oaktree has been an investor in the Financial Planning firm since 2013, and acquired the firm in 2017.

Christian Frick, partner and head of financial services, at Nordic Capital Advisors, said: “Nigel and his team have built an outstanding business with a multi-year track-record of delivering high quality growth and Ascot Lloyd’s strong brand, client centric culture and proven ability to deliver organic and inorganic growth makes it enviably positioned. Nordic Capital looks forward to working in partnership with the business to build on its success and continue the exciting trajectory it is on.”

Nigel Stockton, CEO of Ascot Lloyd, said: “Our acquisition by Nordic Capital is testament to the strength of Ascot Lloyd today and the significant opportunities we have ahead of us. Fundamentally, this is underpinned by the quality of our people and their commitment to offering the best possible service and advice to our clients. We found a great partner in Oaktree, and more recently Ares, who helped us build a great business.

“We are now thrilled about the opportunity to work with Nordic Capital, whose partnership approach will continue to see our people and our culture at the heart of our success. Their investment, supported by deep expertise in financial services, will give us substantial new firepower to accelerate our growth, enabling us to increase the ambition of our acquisition strategy and further invest in people and technology to support our organic growth.”

Ascot Lloyd has close to £10bn in funds under influence, and provides Financial Planning, wealth management and corporate benefit solutions, to over 20,000 clients. It has over 500 staff across 17 UK locations.

The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.