Parmenion is making several redundancies after agreeing to terminate a deal to provide services to Virgin Money.
According to Standard Life Aberdeen’s (SLA’s) annual report and accounts for 2019, it was intended that Parmenion would provide wealth management services to customers through SLA’s joint venture with Virgin Money that was established last year.
But in October the firms mutually agreed to terminate the deal.
Martin Jennings, CEO at Parmenion Capital Partners, said:“This makes sense in the strategic context but unfortunately means that we need to make a number of roles redundant as we close down these programmes of work.
“This process is ongoing and is due to conclude before Christmas.”
SLA’s joint venture with Virgin Money was formed with the aim of serving UK retail customers by combining Virgin Money’s brand, scale and retail distribution background with SLA’s investment solutions.
The news of redundancies comes after SLA confirmed it was exploring the sale of Parmenion, which is thought to be around £150m to £200m according to Sky News, as SLA looks to simplify its offering to financial advisers.
Mr Jennings said: “While owned by SLA, Parmenion has enjoyed significant growth by relentlessly focusing on the delivery of great products and exceptional service.
“Now is the right time for SLA to simplify their strategy. As we search for a new owner to help us realise our growth ambitions, we will be wholly focused on continuing to support all our customers.”
He added: “We look forward to the next phase of our journey as our focus on growth and making investing easier and simpler for all continues. We thank [CEO] Stephen [Bird] and his team at SLA and wish them well in the implementation of their strategy.”
The platform offers model portfolios for advisers as a discretionary service. It was acquired by Aberdeen Asset Management in 2016, a year before Aberdeen merged with Standard Life.
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