Financial Planning and wealth management firm Tavistock has rebuffed an acquisition attempt by Jersey-based fund manager TEAM plc.

TEAM approached the board of Tavistock confidentially on 11 March regarding a possible offer for the company.

It asked the board to provide access to mutual due diligence to see if the terms of a recommended offer could be agreed.

TEAM was seeking to acquire the entire issued ordinary share capital of Tavistock at an exchange ratio of one TEAM share for every 36 Tavistock shares.

The proposed deal is equivalent to a total equity value for Tavistock of £15.2m.

On 15 March Tavistock told TEAM that they would not engage or provide access to due diligence materials.

TEAM has now published a regulatory filing saying that TEAM believes that Tavistock shareholders “deserve the opportunity to decide on the merits of any offer.”

The fund manager added that the “Tavistock Board should act in the interests of its shareholders by engaging with the potential offeror and not deny its shareholders this opportunity.”

Fund manager TEAM went public on 8 March, raising £7.8m for acquisitions with desires to become an internationally-recognised asset and wealth management group.

The Tavistock board has been in the spotlight recently due to rescheduling its shareholder meeting to vote on its review of leadership team incentivisation several times after shareholders expressed concerns over the proposed deal.

The Financial Planner and wealth manager recently reported a reduction in new advisory business levels for 2020, influenced by its advisers’ ability to meet with clients during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Last year Tavistock announced after a business review that it would be closing 5 out of its 11 offices and axing a small number of both senior and junior staff in a £750,00 cost-cutting drive.