• 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