AJ Bell is rumoured to be planning to float on the London stock exchange, according to reports.
The self-invested personal pension and platform provider has met with investment bankers over the past few weeks to prepare for an initial public offering (IPO), according to SkyNews.
The move would see AJ Bell follow in the footsteps of Transact, whose parent company IntegraFin Holdings Limited confirmed it will be going ahead with plans to float in London last month.
A spokesman for AJ Bell said the provider does not comment on market speculation.
The firm's latest results for the year ending September 2017 showed pre-tax profits increased 29 per cent to £21.7m in the year.
Retail customers increased 17 per cent to 164,557 and assets under management were up 25 per cent to £39.8bn.
Chief executive Andy Bell (pictured) said at the time the firm planned to continue with its organic growth and would focus on building its platform.
He said: "Our pace of organic growth means we have no need for acquisitions to increase our scale.
"Our focus is on continued investment in our existing platform to benefit advisers and customers."
AJ Bell is currently owned by Andy Bell (28 per cent); Invesco Perpetual (37 per cent); Seneca Investment Managers (3 per cent); Woodford Investment Management (8 per cent) and the firm's management (24 per cent).
carmen.reichman@ft.com
