Nucleus has today announced the recommended cash acquisition of Curtis Banks Group plc (“Curtis Banks”) for consideration of 350p per Curtis Banks share, a 32.1% premium to the closing price before the commencement of the offer period, representing a total equity value for Curtis Banks of approximately £242 million on a fully diluted basis. 

The transaction will bring together the Nucleus Group and the Curtis Banks Group to create a leading retirement-focused adviser platform with approximately £80 billion of assets under administration. 

The combination of Curtis Banks’ award-winning SIPP and SSAS product offering and strong presence as a provider to customers with complex retirement needs, with Nucleus’ established reputation in the UK platform market will create a comprehensive proposition to support financial advisers and their customers across the full wealth spectrum.  

Advisers currently served by Curtis Banks will also benefit from access to a broader suite of platform services available within the Nucleus Group’s existing offering, including ISAs, GIAs and onshore and offshore bonds, enabling financial advisers to help make retirement more rewarding for their customers.

The acquisition of Curtis Banks represents an attractive opportunity for the Nucleus Group to advance its stated strategy of creating one of the UK’s leading adviser platforms. 

Nucleus is pleased that the board of Curtis Banks has unanimously recommended that Curtis Banks shareholders vote in favour of the transaction, and that the Curtis Banks directors who hold shares have irrevocably undertaken to Nucleus to do so themselves. Additionally, Nucleus has received irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the transaction from Christopher Banks, Rupert Curtis, Sally Curtis and Paul Tarran (the founding shareholders of Curtis Banks), Oryx International Growth Fund Limited and Odyssean Investment Trust plc, who in total represent approximately 49% of Curtis Banks’ issued share capital. In addition, Nucleus has received a letter of intent from Canaccord Genuity Asset Management Limited to vote in favour of the transaction. Accordingly, Nucleus has received irrevocable undertakings and a letter of intent to vote in favour of the transaction representing, in aggregate, approximately 54% of Curtis Banks’ issued share capital.

The acquisition is conditional on, amongst other things, approval by Curtis Banks shareholders and the receipt of clearances from relevant regulators. It is to be implemented by way of a Scheme of Arrangement and is expected to complete in Q2 2023.

Commenting on the announcement, Richard Rowney, Group CEO of the Nucleus Group, said: “We’re delighted to be announcing the acquisition of Curtis Banks, which on completion will become part of our leading independent adviser platform group, with approximately £80 billion in combined AuA. Our ambition remains to create the UK’s leading platform, exclusively for financial advisers to help them make retirement more rewarding for their customers. We’re already demonstrating the benefits of scale, enabling investment in technology, people, products, price and service.

As one of the UK's largest independent SIPP and SSAS providers, Curtis Banks not only adds further significant scale to our business but will complement our existing expertise and benefit our combined adviser base providing added flexibility and optionality.”

David Barral, Executive Chairman of Curtis Banks, said: "The Board of Curtis Banks is pleased to be recommending the Nucleus Group’s offer for the company, which represents a significant premium in cash and offers certain value for our shareholders. Curtis Banks recognises Nucleus’ established reputation and strength in the adviser platform market, as well as our shared customer-centric approach and aligned corporate values. The Combined Group’s greater scale, efficient platform, broader product proposition and enhanced ability to invest in technology and service will benefit all stakeholders."

This release should be read in conjunction with the full text of the RNS announcement released by Nucleus and Curtis Banks today under Rule 2.7 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers  (including its Appendices).

You can download a PDF of the Press release here
 

Enquiries:

TB Cardew (Financial PR adviser to Nucleus)   

• Tom Allison +44 (0)77 8999 8020
• Shan Shan Willenbrock +44 (0)77 7584 8537
• Olivia Rosser +44 (0)7552 864 250
• E: nucleus@tbcardew.com  

Notes to editors:

About Nucleus

The Nucleus Group is led by Group CEO, Richard Rowney. Richard originally joined James Hay Partnership in 2020 and pioneered the strategy to create a leading retirement platform via organic and acquisitive growth. In August 2021, James Hay Partnership acquired Nucleus Financial Group plc and combined both businesses to create the Nucleus Group, a new group with the scale to invest in technology, product, price, and service. 

Over the last two years, the Nucleus Group has overhauled and significantly invested in its senior management team, as well as employing 120 new colleagues across the business in the last twelve months alone. The new senior team members bring deep industry experience from companies including Interactive Investor, BGL Insurance, LV and HSBC. With these additions, the Nucleus Group has added significant expertise in managing acquisitions, integration, outsourcing and re-platforming. 

From offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Salisbury, the Nucleus Group administers customer assets across SIPPs, ISAs, GIAs and other products. James Hay Online, with its 40-year heritage in SIPP and pension expertise, focuses on larger financial advisory businesses while Nucleus Wrap serves smaller and medium-sized advisers.

In October 2022, the Nucleus Group established The Nucleus Foundation, a registered charity operated by the Nucleus Group and independent trustees. With initial seed funding from shareholders of £750,000, it provides support to charitable organisations and causes across the UK.  

The major shareholders of the Nucleus Group are HPS and Epiris.

* As at as at October 2022 – Fundscape Q3 Platform Report

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (“Nucleus”) one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, has announced the launch of the Nucleus Foundation (“the Foundation”) – its new dedicated philanthropic arm.

The Nucleus Foundation will be launched with £750,000, entirely funded by the business and governed by a committee of independent and staff trustees. Nucleus is appointing eight employee trustees from across the business that represent its locations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Salisbury and also includes remote workers.

Nucleus received Charity Commission approval for the Foundation earlier this month, meaning it can now officially begin work as a registered charity. The Foundation will focus its efforts on five core areas across some of the issues and causes most important to the business and its people.

• The first will be supporting local community causes, adopting a place-based-giving approach to providing grants and financial assistance to causes in the locations where Nucleus is based across the UK.  
• Encouraging more women into financial advice careers will be another key area of focus for the Foundation, working alongside charities who support the education and development of women into careers in financial advice and planning.
• Aligned with Nucleus’s purpose, the Foundation aims to help make retirement more rewarding and will also support disadvantaged people who are retired or approaching retirement age, by providing grants and working alongside organisations who assist those without access to financial advice or pension products.
• Employee sponsorship and donations will be another core element of the Foundation, with Nucleus boosting funds raised by its people for the charitable causes close to their hearts.  
• Finally, funding will also be allocated to provide targeted support for employees their families in time of need, offering financial assistance in cases of emergency and hardship which are outside of standard workplace policies.

Richard Rowney, Chief Executive Officer of Nucleus, said: “The launch of the Nucleus Foundation is a significant milestone and underpins the positive contribution and impact we want to make. The enthusiasm and excitement about the Foundation from our people has been inspiring and I’m delighted that we’ve now been granted charitable status, ready for our philanthropic work to really gear up in 2023.”

Nucleus is one of the UK’s leading independent retirement-focused platforms, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Salisbury. The business administers approximately £43 billion* of customer assets across self-invested personal pensions, individual savings accounts, general investment accounts and other products, for over 5,000 financial advisers and serving more than 160,000 underlying customers across the UK.  

Since the creation of the combined group, the development of a new retirement platform has started. The business’ combined scale, and the profitability that comes with it, is enabling it to invest in products, price, service, and its people.

Enquiries:
    
Victoria Webb   
Head of Public Relations for Nucleus
E: newsroom@nucleusfinancial.com   
T:  +44 (0) 7712 551 838   

Notes to editors:

The Nucleus Financial Platform Group offers investment platforms that help make retirement more rewarding. Our two platforms are run exclusively for financial advisers, with over 160,000 UK customer.

Renowned for its SIPP expertise, James Hay Partnership has been working with larger financial advisory groups for more than 40 years, providing the means to administer pensions, savings and investments in a cost and tax efficient way.  

Our award-winning platform Nucleus was acquired by James Hay in September 2021. It was founded in 2006 by advisers committed to altering the balance of power in the industry by putting the customer centre stage.

Nucleus is the name of the combined business and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

* As at as at October 2022 – Fundscape Q3 Platform Report

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (“Nucleus”) one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, has restructured its technology team, appointing Jenny Thorpe as Chief Business Architect and Angela Cooper as Director of Technology. The appointments not only bolster Nucleus’s existing team, but reflect the business’s continued focus on building scale and investing in its technology, products, price and services.

Jenny spent the last three years as an Associate Director at Alpha FMC, as part of the management team tasked with creating a new pensions and retail investments practice to complement its already successful asset management consulting business. Before joing Alpha she spent nine years at Aegon and prior to that seven years with Alliance Trust with roles in operations, architecture, strategy and transformation.

Based in Edinburgh, Jenny will report to Chief Operating Officer Richard Warner, driving the design of Nucleus’s services as part of its ambition to build the UK’s leading retirement platform for advisers. Angela will become Director of Technology, joining from platform technology provider GBST where she spent the last five years on the Executive Team within the business’s client services division, responsible for overall operational management. Prior to her
time at GBST she spent fourteen years at Aegon, leading platform support and delivery teams. In her new role at Nucleus Angela’s client delivery experience will complement and strengthen the technology team. Also based in Edinburgh, Angela will report to JP Miller, whose remit is expanding as the new Technology and Transformation Director. Andrew Smith will be taking on the strategically important role of Chief Digital Officer, a newly created position tasked with developing further and faster into digital technology in line with Nucleus’s growth ambitions. Andrew has been part of the leadership team since Nucleus’s inception and will now be focused on developing digital applications that better differentiate the platform service and help advisers meet their clients’ needs.

And Paul McAnulty, who’s been with Nucleus for 11 years has been promoted to Director of Data Solutions, reflecting the increasing importance of data in evidencing that customers are receiving the right outcomes, as required by the FCA’s Consumer Duty.

Richard Rowney, Chief Executive Officer at Nucleus, said: “Alongside investing in developing our products, improving service and reducing the price our customers pay, we’ve also been investing in our people, so we have the right team to deliver the priorities advisers have. We’re delighted that we could attract such seasoned professionals as Jenny and Angela, and congratulate Andrew, JP and Paul for their new
roles.

“We’ve got some great talent and the structure we’ve created will allow us to refocus our efforts across technology and digital development. This year alone, we’ve added almost 90 new colleagues and these changes will complement and boost our team at this transformative time in Nucleus’s evolution.”

Nucleus is one of the UK’s leading independent retirement-focused platforms, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Salisbury. The business administers approximately £46 billion* of customer assets across self-invested personal pensions, individual savings accounts, general investment accounts and other products, for over 5,000 financial advisers and serving more than 160,000 underlying customers across the UK.

Since the creation of the combined group, the development of a new retirement platform has started. The business’ combined scale, and the profitability that comes with it, is enabling it to invest in products, price, and service. To date, £5 million has been invested in improving service and technology and a further the £6 million committed to a roadmap of enhancements.

You can download a PDF of the Press release here

Enquiries:
    
Victoria Webb   
Head of Public Relations for Nucleus
E: newsroom@nucleusfinancial.com  

Notes to editors:

The Nucleus Financial Platform Group offers investment platforms that help make retirement more rewarding. Our two platforms are run exclusively for financial advisers, with over 160,000 UK customer.

Renowned for its SIPP expertise, James Hay Partnership has been working with larger financial advisory groups for more than 40 years, providing the means to administer pensions, savings and investments in a cost and tax efficient way.  

Our award-winning platform Nucleus was acquired by James Hay in September 2021. It was founded in 2006 by advisers committed to altering the balance of power in the industry by putting the customer centre stage.

Nucleus is the name of the combined business and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

* As at as at February 2022 – Fundscape Q1 Platform Report

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (“Nucleus”) one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, has announced the appointment of two new independent non-executive directors (NEDs). Judith Davidson and Richard Hoskins will soon join the Nucleus board, subject to regulatory approval.

Judith Davidson is the former Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of IntegraFin, which owns and operates award-winning investment platform Transact. During her 11-year career at Transact, Judith was responsible for the organisational processes and customer centric culture, that helped to drive strong organic growth in customer flows and facilitate the development of the business.

Richard Hoskins will join the board as chair of the audit committee. Richard has extensive experience as a non-executive director at Liberty Mutual, Aztec and BGL Group, and as a senior executive at Hastings, Aviva, AIG and Old Mutual. With a career spanning almost 40 years, Richard brings a proven CEO and CFO track record for multiple blue-chip organisations, and deep expertise in financial services – particularly in insurance services and asset management.

In addition, remaining on the Board and as chair of the risk committee, Kathryn Purves will also now take on the role of senior independent director. Kathryn served as Chief Executive Officer of IFG plc, the listed financial services parent company of what was James Hay Partnership and Saunderson House, Chief Risk Officer of Partnership Assurance Group plc and worked within the private equity industry for a number of years.

Richard Rowney, Chief Executive Officer of Nucleus, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our new non-executive directors to the board, with each bringing a wealth of insight and expertise. I’d also like to congratulate Kathryn on moving to be our senior independent director.

“This is an exciting and pivotal time for Nucleus, and we now have all the ingredients in place to drive our ambitious agenda forward. The calibre and experience of our new board members will be a huge advantage and the appointments also mean that we will have greater gender balance, enhancing the diversity of thought, perspectives and skillsets required to guide and oversee the next chapter of our growth.”

Nucleus also recently announced the appointment of Gordon Wilson as incoming chair. Gordon previously chaired Interactive Investor, one of the UK’s largest direct to consumer investment platforms with AUA of almost £55bn, until its successful sale to abrdn earlier this year. His 30-year executive career includes the President and CEO of Travelport, one of the world’s leading travel commerce platforms which he took public on the NYSe in 2014 and then sold to private equity in 2019. He also chairs Ambassador Cruise Line and Virgin Experience Days and served as a non-executive director at William Hill PLC until its successful sale to Caesars Entertainment in 2021.

Nucleus is one of the UK’s leading independent retirement-focused platforms, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Salisbury. The business administers approximately £46 billion* of customer assets across self-invested personal pensions, individual savings accounts, general investment accounts and other products, for over 5,000 financial advisers and serving more than 160,000 underlying customers across the UK.  
 
Since the creation of the combined group, the development of a new retirement platform has started. The business’ combined scale, and the profitability that comes with it, is enabling it to invest in products, price, and service. To date, £5 million has been invested in improving service and technology and a further the £6 million committed to a roadmap of enhancements.

You can download a PDF of the Press release here

Enquiries:
    
Victoria Webb   
Head of Public Relations for Nucleus
E: newsroom@nucleusfinancial.com  

Notes to editors:

The Nucleus Financial Platform Group offers investment platforms that help make retirement more rewarding. Our two platforms are run exclusively for financial advisers, with over 160,000 UK customer.

Renowned for its SIPP expertise, James Hay Partnership has been working with larger financial advisory groups for more than 40 years, providing the means to administer pensions, savings and investments in a cost and tax efficient way.  

Our award-winning platform Nucleus was acquired by James Hay in September 2021. It was founded in 2006 by advisers committed to altering the balance of power in the industry by putting the customer centre stage.

Nucleus is the name of the combined business and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

* As at as at February 2022 – Fundscape Q1 Platform Report

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (“Nucleus”) one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, has announced the appointment of Gordon Wilson as its new Chair, subject to regulatory approval.

Gordon also chairs Ambassador Cruise Line and Virgin Experience Days, and previously chaired Interactive Investor, one of the UK’s largest direct to consumer investment platforms with AUA of almost £55bn, until its successful sale to abrdn earlier this year. His 30-year executive career includes the President and CEO of Travelport, one of the world’s leading travel commerce platforms which he took public on the NYSe in 2014 and then sold to private equity in 2019. He also served as a non-executive director at William Hill PLC until its successful sale to Caesars Entertainment in 2021.

Richard Rowney, CEO of Nucleus, said: “While it’s very much business as usual here, approval of HPS’s investment is a significant milestone which we’re pleased to have achieved. Their support and investment are not only a huge vote of confidence in our strategy, but also in the collective achievements and future potential of the fantastic team of people that make up Nucleus.

“I also thank our outgoing chair Mark Dearsley for his tremendous support, counsel, and expertise over many years, helping steer the business from the IFG ownership days through to the position we’re in today.”

Gordon Wilson added: “I’m delighted to be taking up the role of chair at a pivotal time for Nucleus as we grow the business and develop a new retirement platform on new technology. It has a unique opportunity to become one of the scale leaders in the sector, while delivering against the priorities of advisers through investment in the proposition, pricing, and service.”

Nucleus is one of the UK’s leading independent retirement-focused platforms, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Salisbury. The business administers approximately £46 billion* of customer assets across self-invested personal pensions, individual savings accounts, general investment accounts and other products, for over 5,000 financial advisers and serving more than 160,000 underlying customers across the UK.

Since the creation of the combined group, the development of a new retirement platform has started. The business combined scale, and the profitability that comes with it, is enabling it to invest in products, price, and service. To date, £5 million has been invested in improving service and technology and a further £6 million committed to a roadmap of enhancements.

You can download a PDF of the Press release here

Enquiries:
    
Victoria Webb   
Head of Public Relations for Nucleus
E: newsroom@nucleusfinancial.com   
T:  +44 (0) 7712 551 838    

Notes to editors:

The Nucleus Financial Platform Group offers investment platforms that help make retirement more rewarding. Our two platforms are run exclusively for financial advisers, with over 160,000 UK customer.

Renowned for its SIPP expertise, James Hay Partnership has been working with larger financial advisory groups for more than 40 years, providing the means to administer pensions, savings and investments in a cost and tax efficient way.  

Our award-winning platform Nucleus was acquired by James Hay in September 2021. It was founded in 2006 by advisers committed to altering the balance of power in the industry by putting the customer centre stage.

Nucleus is the name of the combined business and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

* As at as at February 2022 – Fundscape Q1 Platform Report

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (“Nucleus”) one of the UK’s leading, independent,adviser platform groups, has received regulatory approval for its recent shareholder change.

HPS Investment Partners (“HPS”) has acquired a majority stake in the business, with Epiris retaining a significant minority interest. They both have a shared vision to build the leading retirement-focused investment platform for financial advisers in the UK.

Today marks the completion of the transaction, with no changes to Nucleus’ business model, growth strategy or management team.

Richard Rowney, CEO of Nucleus, said: “While it’s very much business as usual here, approval of HPS’s investment is a significant milestone which we’re pleased to have achieved. Their support and investment are not only a huge vote of confidence in our strategy, but also in the collective achievements and future potential of the fantastic team of people that make up Nucleus.

“It should also give further confidence to the advisers we serve, that we’ll continue to invest in delivering their priorities for improving our platforms, reducing the price their customers pay, and in ensuring the service we offer meets their needs and expectations.”

Nucleus is one of the UK’s leading independent retirement-focused platforms, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Salisbury. The business
administers approximately £46 billion* of customer assets across self-invested personal pensions, individual savings accounts, general investment accounts and other products, for over 5,000 financial advisers and serving more than 160,000 underlying customers across the UK.

Since the creation of the combined group, the development of a new retirement platform has started. The business’ combined scale, and the profitability that comes
with it, is enabling it to invest in products, price, and service. To date, £5 million has been invested in improving service and technology and a further the £6 million committed to a roadmap of enhancements.

The financial terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.

You can download a PDF of the Press release here

Enquiries:
    
Victoria Webb   
Head of Public Relations for Nucleus
E: newsroom@nucleusfinancial.com   
T:  +44 (0) 7712 551 838    

Notes to editors:

The Nucleus Financial Platform Group offers investment platforms that help make retirement more rewarding. Our two platforms are run exclusively for financial advisers, with over 160,000 UK customer.

Renowned for its SIPP expertise, James Hay Partnership has been working with larger financial advisory groups for more than 40 years, providing the means to administer pensions, savings and investments in a cost and tax efficient way.  

Our award-winning platform Nucleus was acquired by James Hay in September 2021. It was founded in 2006 by advisers committed to altering the balance of power in the industry by putting the customer centre stage.

Nucleus is the name of the combined business and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

* As at as at February 2022 – Fundscape Q1 Platform Report

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (“Nucleus” or “the Group”) one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, has appointed Mike Regan as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), subject to regulatory approval.

Mike will officially start and also join the board on 12 September. He will take over from Stuart Geard, CFO of Nucleus Financial and Gavin Howard, CFO of James Hay, who, having helped lead the businesses for 10 and 5 years respectively and steer them through the recent corporate transformation that created the present group, have taken the difficult decision that now is the right time to step aside and consider a new challenge.

Mike is an experienced board-level CFO with a track record of success in M&A, driving business transformation and developing high performing finance teams. He joins from UK digital insurer BGLi where he was Chief Financial Officer for three years.

Prior to this, he spent almost ten years at the Royal Bank of Scotland, and as part of this held the role of Finance Director for RBS’s Private Banking Franchise, Coutts.

A chartered accountant by profession, Mike has a breadth and depth of experience in the financial services sector, starting his career at PwC and later holding senior positions at financial giants UBS and HSBC and European commercial bank West LB.

Richard Rowney, Chief Executive Officer at Nucleus, said: “Mike brings two decades of experience in the financial services sector and will be instrumental in helping us continue to build scale and invest in product, service and price to capture the significant opportunity in the platform market. This is an exciting time in Nucleus’s evolution, and I look forward to having Mike in my team as we build the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform.

“On behalf of the Board, I would also like to sincerely thank Stuart and Gavin for their enormous contribution towards helping us get to the position we are at today, and for their continued professionalism and unwavering commitment to the business. They’ll remain for some time to assist Mike with a seamless handover of responsibilities and we truly wish them both the very best for the future.”

Mike Regan, incoming CFO of Nucleus, commented: “I’ve been extremely impressed by Richard and the calibre of the wider executive team at Nucleus, and in particular the ambition they have for the business - strongly backed by the shareholders. Nucleus has all the ingredients in place and it’s highly motivating to be joining at this pivotal time for the company.  I look forward to working with everyone and helping to steer the business through its next phase of growth as we continue to invest in the platform and build scale.“

Stuart Geard, current Chief Financial Officer of Nucleus Financial said: “I’m very proud to have played a small part in growing Nucleus from an Edinburgh start-up to where it is today, whilst at the same time maintaining the energy of a small company and the desire to put advisers and their clients centre-stage in everything we do. I’ve been on the Nucleus journey since the early days of Sanlam’s ownership and it’s been immensely fulfilling, but I feel now is the right time for me to step aside and consider where I should focus my energies next. I wish Richard, Mike and everyone at Nucleus every success and look forward to watching the business’s progress with pride.”

Gavin Howard, current Chief Financial Officer for James Hay added: “It’s been a privilege to be part of the success story that is Nucleus and to work with such a talented team over the last five years. It really is the people that set our business apart and I have no intention of becoming a stranger.  I’m delighted to be handing over to Mike and am confident that he has the experience and track record to help write the next chapter. It’s an exciting time for Nucleus and I will be cheering the team on from the sidelines.”

In August 2021 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) gave regulatory approval for James Hay to acquire Nucleus Financial. The Nucleus name is being used for the combined group and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration (AUA).

You can download a PDF of the Press release here

Enquiries:
    
Victoria Webb   
Head of Public Relations for Nucleus
E: newsroom@nucleusfinancial.com   
T:  +44 (0) 7712 551 838    

Notes to editors:

The Nucleus Financial Platform Group offers investment platforms that help make retirement more rewarding. Our two platforms are run exclusively for financial advisers, with over 160,000 UK customer.

Renowned for its SIPP expertise, James Hay Partnership has been working with larger financial advisory groups for more than 40 years, providing the means to administer pensions, savings and investments in a cost and tax efficient way.  

Our award-winning platform Nucleus was acquired by James Hay in September 2021. It was founded in 2006 by advisers committed to altering the balance of power in the industry by putting the customer centre stage.

Nucleus is the name of the combined business and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

Nucleus Financial Platforms Group (“Nucleus” or the “Group”) has appointed Fraser Smith as Head of Marketing - bolstering the business’ growing in-house marketing team.  

Based in Edinburgh, Fraser will report to Nucleus Marketing Director Stephen Wynne-Jones to support the ongoing integration of the James Hay and Nucleus Wrap platform propositions, roll out the combined Group’s new brand and website launch this summer, and deliver communications to advisers on the investment the group is making in products, service and price.

Fraser joins Nucleus after five years at Aegon, where he led the customer and adviser marketing teams. He was also instrumental in their digital transformation projects and the development of communications for the Cofunds platform migration. Prior to Aegon he was Head of Segment Marketing at RBS, and with a career spanning over 20 years has also held a succession of marketing and communications roles with Tesco Bank, Virgin Money and Sony.

Commenting on the appointment Alex Kovach, Chief Commercial Officer at Nucleus said: “Given the scale of our business, our project pipeline and ambitious growth plans, the role of marketing has never been more important. We’re delighted to have Fraser onboard, and his appointment significantly boosts our in-house capabilities, adding a wealth of experience and fresh perspective to our talented and growing team.”

In August 2021 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) gave regulatory approval for James Hay to acquire Nucleus Financial. The Nucleus name is being used for the combined group and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

You can download a PDF of the Press release here

Enquiries:
    
Victoria Webb   
Head of Public Relations for Nucleus
E: newsroom@nucleusfinancial.com   
T:  +44 (0) 7712 551 838    

Notes to editors:

The Nucleus Financial Platform Group offers investment platforms that help make retirement more rewarding. Our two platforms are run exclusively for financial advisers, with over 160,000 UK customer.

Renowned for its SIPP expertise, James Hay Partnership has been working with larger financial advisory groups for more than 40 years, providing the means to administer pensions, savings and investments in a cost and tax efficient way.  

Our award-winning platform Nucleus was acquired by James Hay in September 2021. It was founded in 2006 by advisers committed to altering the balance of power in the industry by putting the customer centre stage.

Nucleus is the name of the combined business and together it’s already one of the UK’s leading, independent, adviser platform groups, with approximately £48bn* in assets under administration.

• HPS Investment Partners ("HPS"), through certain funds and/or accounts managed, advised or controlled by the Firm or its subsidiaries or affiliates, becomes majority investor alongside existing shareholder Epiris
• No change to strategy - will continue to use scale to invest in product, service and price
• New investment endorses strategy and management team

Nucleus, the fifth largest adviser platform group in the UK, is pleased to welcome HPS as a new majority shareholder, alongside existing shareholder Epiris which is retaining a significant minority stake.

HPS's investment is an endorsement of Nucleus' vision to build the leading retirement­ focused investment platform for financial advisers in the UK. The new investment will see no changes to Nucleus' business model or management team.

Since the creation of the enlarged group in 2021 over £5m has already been invested in service and £6m committed to platform development for 2022. Nucleus will continue to use its existing scale to further invest in products, service and price, underpinned by innovative technology, for the benefit of advisers and their clients.

Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

Nucleus CEO Richard Rowney said: "My whole team and I have really enjoyed working with Epiris to deliver the vision set out for this business in 2019. We're now delighted to welcome HPS as the new majority investor and look forward to working with both them and Epiris as we continue to progress our exciting vision. It has been obvious from an early stage that their ambition for the business and commitment to support me and my management team to grow the business meant we are all completely aligned.

While today's news will not result in any immediate practical change, it is certainly a vote of confidence, not just in our strategy, but also in our people - the 650 dedicated colleagues who make up our business, with a sole focus of supporting advisers, and helping them make retirement more rewarding for their clients.

We'll now continue our important work of ensuring the basics of platform provision are right; serving advisers properly, executing orders on behalf of their clients and ensuring the financial plans they've designed can be effectively delivered. At the same time we'll continue to share the benefits that come from economies of scale with our customers, investing in giving them better products, better service and better prices.
 

You can download a PDF of the Press release here.

For further information, contact:

TB Cordew
 
-    Tom Allison +44 (0) 7789 998020
-    Shan Willenbrock +44 (0) 7775 848537
 

The acquisition of Nucleus by James Hay has received regulatory approval and the offer has today gone wholly unconditional.

Combining the best of both companies will create a financial planning and retirement-focused platform with the scale to enable greater investment in products, price and service to meet the needs of advisers and their clients. It will offer a compelling blend of online technology and offline service that can compete at the winning end of the advised platform market.

With the transaction subject only to formalities, the combined group can now work collaboratively to address the changing needs of advisers and their clients, and determine the best combination of technologies, operations and people that can deliver the group’s strategy.

This is an exciting time in the platform sector and the combined group is set to thrive as it continues to develop a broader range of digital capability. The Nucleus and James Hay platforms will continue to operate independently for the foreseeable future while integration plans are developed. While this will be a complex exercise, the more immediate priorities are to ensure continuity of service and to deliver a roadmap of enhancements. Further details of the combined group’s development plans, including the future leadership structure will be announced in the coming months.

James Hay CEO Richard Rowney will lead the combined group. Commenting on achieving regulatory approval he said: “This deal creates one of the leading, independent, adviser platform groups in the UK with over £47 billion of AUA*. We see this as a coming together of the very best parts of both businesses, building on our retirement expertise and their digital capability to develop a service that truly meets the needs of advisers and their customers.”

David Ferguson, Nucleus founder, added: “Since 2006 we've always tried to do the right thing and put the customer centre stage. Actually meaning that has made us a little bit different from others in the sector but it also carried us to £19bn in AUA and led to this deal.

We have full respect for the challenges ahead and are energised by the goal of working with our new colleagues to create the UK’s most respected and successful adviser platform.”

*AUA as at 30 June 2021 (£28.3bn James Hay & £18.9bn Nucleus)

You can download a PDF of the Press release here.

For further information, contact:

TB Cardew 
-   Tom Allison +44 (0) 7789 998020
-   Shan Willenbrock +44 (0) 7775 848537