The sale of Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM) to private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management for £200m has completed, with the new owner planning to create a leading, yet-to-be-named independent wealth manager.

The deal was first announced last September but has now received regulatory approval.

Oaktree is an experienced investor in UK wealth management businesses and said it will support CBAM “as an agile, independently run and standalone business, to enable CBAM to accelerate its future ambitions at pace.”

The business will continue to trade as CBAM for a short while, with a new name set to be announced in due course, although Oaktree is yet to reveal the timing of the change.

CBAM’s current executive committee, with CEO Eddy Reynolds in charge, will continue to lead the business, with Oaktree saying it will “provide expertise to add further strength to the team.”


Mr Reynolds: “Today marks the start of an exciting new period for CBAM as a standalone business. I would like to thank all my colleagues for helping us get to this point, and Close Brothers Group for its continued support over the years.

“Oaktree’s backing will help us maintain and build on our growth strategy and support us in our aspiration to become the leading premium wealth manager in UK for both our clients and our colleagues.”

Federico Álvarez Demalde, managing director at Oaktree said: “We are fully committed to the team's strategy and the investments we plan to make in both technology and people.

“Having invested in the sector since 2012, across many different businesses, we can confidently say that the business possesses unique characteristics that make its value proposition to customers truly exceptional.”

Close Brothers Asset Management operates from offices in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cheltenham, Chester, Chichester, Dorset, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Guernsey, Manchester, Newcastle, Northwich and Winchester.

Oaktree has $202bn (£160bn) in assets under management as of the end of December 2024. It has more than 1,200 employees and offices in 23 cities worldwide.