The merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson completed this morning with the group being renamed Tilney Smith & Williamson.

There will be no immediate changes to the group’s existing principal client facing brands: Tilney, Smith & Williamson and Bestinvest.

The merger created an integrated wealth management and professional services group with over £47bn of assets under management (AUM), and roughly £530m of pro forma revenue.

The £45bn mega merger deal had stalled earlier this year during the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

Tilney Smith & Williamson is now the third-largest UK wealth manager when ranked by revenues inside its wealth management services, and fourth-largest when measured by AUM.

It is also the sixth-largest UK professional services group by fee income.

The merged business has around 290 investment managers, 265 Financial Planners and more than 140 professional services partners and directors located across the UK, as well as in the Republic of Ireland and The Channel Islands

The new Board of Tilney Smith & Williamson is made up of eleven Directors drawn from both the two previous boards and representatives of the group’s major shareholders. The members of the Board (subject to FCA approval) are Will Samuel (chairman), Chris Woodhouse (group chief executive), Andrew Baddeley (group chief financial officer), Elizabeth Chambers, David Cobb, Peter Deming, Keith Jones, Philip Muelder, Chris Pell, Carla Stent and Kevin Stopps.

Will Samuel, the new chairman of the newly combined Tilney Smith & Williamson group, said: “We are delighted to have successfully completed this major transaction against what is unquestionably a highly challenging economic backdrop. This is not only a transformational moment for both of the previous businesses, it is also a significant development within the UK financial services sector, creating a scaled-up group with an unrivalled service proposition that can support clients with the management of both their personal wealth and business interests.”

Chris Woodhouse, group chief executive of the newly combined Tilney Smith & Williamson group, said: “Today, we have brought together two very successful and long-established businesses that are highly complementary to one another. Together they bring an incredible pool of talented professionals with a strong ethos of delivering exceptional service to their clients. This is a great foundation for the future.

“Since we first announced the intention to merge a year ago, a huge amount of work has taken place to identify our respective strengths and plan the integration on a ‘best of both’ approach. Over the coming months, we look forward to integrating the businesses and creating a group that will be uniquely well-placed to meet the needs of clients.”