Alliance Trust Savings (ATS) has acquired Brewin Dolphin’s stockbroking business Stocktrade for £14m in a deal that is expected to add 48,000 new customers and £4.6bn of new assets.
ATS said the proposed acquisition “accelerates” its strategy and has the potential to increase its assets from £7.2bn to more than £11.5bn and its customers from 57,000 to over 105,000 across its three main channels, direct customers, intermediary customers and strategic partnerships.
Patrick Mill, managing director of ATS, said: “Stocktrade is a great strategic fit for ATS, giving us access to new customers, an increase in assets and the opportunity to build a strategic partnership capability.”
Katherine Garrett-Cox, chief executive of Alliance Trust, added: “Over the last couple of months we have received a lot of valuable feedback from our shareholders. We are currently analysing that feedback and we will update shareholders further at our interim results in July.
“Our strategy for ATS is to grow the business organically, but when appropriate acquisition opportunities present themselves that fit with our stringent criteria then these will be assessed. The acquisition by ATS of Stocktrade is an example of us putting this strategy into action and pursuing our ambitious growth targets.”
The deal is expected to be completed towards the end of the third quarter of 2015, with Graham Swan and Nicholas Pearson, divisional directors of Stocktrade, set to stay on in senior management roles.
Brewin Dolphin and ATS promised “a smooth transition” for all customers to the ATS platform.
