Liontrust is to buy Walker Crips Asset Managers in a £12.3 million deal, with the ambition to strengthen its range of UK equity funds and teams.
The deal will increase Liontrust’s assets under management by £604 million to more than £2 billion.
Once completed, all eight UK equity unit trusts will be actively managed by Liontrust.
Stephen Bailey and Jan Luthman, two managers, are to join Liontrust and continue to manage the CF Walker Crips UK Growth fund, CF Walker Crips Equity Income fund, CF Walker Crips UK High Alpha fund and CF UK fund as well as two institutional segregated accounts.
The fund names, however, will change as they will be marketed under the Liontrust brand.
Walker Crips said it would also delegate its investment management responsibilities for the CF Walker Crips Corporate Bond, CF Walker Crips Select Income and CF Walker Crips Global Growth funds to an “appropriately authorised company” within the group.
In a joint statement, both asset managers said their respective UK equity funds and fund management teams were complementary because of their “distinct investment processes and styles”.
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