BNP Paribas Securities Services UK has sold its third-party fund hosting company Investment Fund Services (IFSL) to Marlborough Fund Managers’ parent company, UFC Fund Management. The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
IFSL acts as Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) for more than 800m of assets in funds managed by specialist investment companies in the UK.
UFC Fund Management’s subsidiary Marlborough Fund Managers is already active as ACD for its own fund range and for a number of third-party funds, with a total of around 1.7 billion in assets under management.
Under the agreement, BNP Paribas Securities Services UK will continue to provide fund accounting and middle office services for the IFSL funds.
Andrew Staley, chairman of UFC Fund Management and Marlborough Fund Managers, said: “We have an established track record in the role of ACD and when this opportunity arose it was a logical move for us. It marks another significant milestone in the continuing growth of the Marlborough group of companies, with group-wide assets under management now in excess of 3 billion.”
James McAleenan, head of BNP Paribas Securities Services UK, said: “We are pleased to agree the sale of IFSL to Marlborough. While IFSL has been a successful part of our business in the UK, we concluded that the ACD function is not core to our longer-term UK strategy. Transferring this business to Marlborough ensures that existing clients of the service are unaffected and we look forward to building our relationship with Marlborough going forward.”
(JDC)