Brewin Dolphin Confirms Talks To Buy Investec's Irish Assets

LONDON (Alliance News) - Wealth manager Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC on Monday confirmed it is in talks to buy Irish wealth management business of Johannesburg and London-listed peer Investec PLC.

Brewin Dolphin said it is in exclusive ongoing discussions with Investec but added that "there can be no certainty that a transaction will be agreed".

For the financial year ended September 30, 2018, Brewin Dolphin's total funds increased 6.7% to GBP42.8 billion. Funds for the first quarter of 2019 financial, however, fell 7.7% to GBP39.5 billion.

Brewin Dolphin's investment performance shed GBP3.8 billion from its total funds in the first three months of the financial year with GBP3.2 billion being lost from its discretionary funds.

Shares in Brewin Dolphin were up 0.3% Monday morning at 331.80 pence each. In London, Investec was trading 1.0% higher at 498.70p, while in Johannesburg the stock was untraded at ZAR90.00.

Over the weekend, the Sunday Times reported Brewin Dolphin was competing with Irish lender AIB Group PLC to buy Investec's Irish private client stockbroking business for up to EUR60 million.

The newspaper reported that fellow London-listed wealth manager Rathbone Brothers PLC and Bank of Ireland Group PLC were also interested in the assets.

If the deal were to go ahead, it would represent Brewin Dolphin's second purchase of Irish assets in the last decade after acquiring Tilman Asset Management eight years ago for up to EUR36 million, for about GBP807 million of assets.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brewin-dolphin-in-talks-for-investecs-irish-unit-03vsgffnt