The chief executive of Lighthouse has described its national business as the "jewel in the crown" of Quilter's £46.2m bid for the company.
Last week Quilter announced it had agreed a deal to buy the AIM listed national advice company, which if approved is expected to complete during the second quarter of 2019 and which will see 400 advisers join Quilter's advice arm Intrinsic.
Speaking with FTAdviser today (April 8) Malcolm Streatfield said Lighthouse's national business, which includes an offering for high net worths and the company's affinity groups, was one of the main reasons Quilter wanted to pursue the acquisition, describing it as the "jewel in the crown".
Mr Streatfield confirmed the national business would "absolutely" integrate with Quilter if the deal went ahead and he does not envision any adviser "having or wanting" to leave the company as a result of the transaction.
It emerged last week that the firm's adviser network will transfer to the Intrinsic network at Quilter, giving advisers the choice of whether to remain independent, as they are at present, or to become restricted.
The national business within Lighthouse however, is still awaiting a decision on how its advisers will be integrated. A representative of Quilter said any changes will be made "in the interests of the client".
Mr Streatfield said he expected about 15-30 staff redundancies to take place after the sale due to role duplications between Lighthouse and Quilter.
He said: "Job losses will be few, and all regrettable."
A number of these redundancies include Mr Streatfield eventually stepping down from his role of chief executive and other senior management from the Lighthouse board.
Mr Streatfield said: "I will be a feature in the business for a while, and certainly until integration plans are well advanced and then there will be a proper conversation between the two parties and a discussion to let Andy Thompson [chief executive of Quilter’s advice businesses] run the business.
"I'm not rushing off into the twilight zone. I haven't invested nearly 20 years of my life in to the business to not ensure a successful integration is achieved."
Quilter will pay £42.2m for the deal, with the remainder of the offer sourced from Lighthouse's excess cash on its balance sheet.
Lighthouse will be the latest acquisition in Quilter's rapid growth, following the wealth manager's acquisition of financial planning firm Charles Derby in February.
rachel.addison@ft.com
