Thames River Capital, the London-based hedge fund group backed by Sir John Beckwith, has decided not to go public after all.
In October last year, Thames River launched a strategic review led by the newly appointed Chief Executive, Glyn Jones, to decide the best way forward for an asset management business that now manages $8.5 billion.
The company announced on Wednesday that it preferred to remain a private partnership rather than list, since going public would undermine “the unique culture which has been so critical to the success of Thames River.” In a statement, Thames River explained that “this culture is based upon a combination of strong investment performance, client focus and real partnership amongst the company’s investment professionals. The best interests of clients and key staff will be served well by maintaining the existing business structure and its associated cultural strengths and thus tightly controlling volume growth, preventing over-expansion and sustaining investment performance excellence.”
Glyn Jones will now step down as CEO immediately and leave the company after a short transition. Thames River adds that it was agreed at the time Jones joined that he would leave if the company decided not to go public. Charlie Porter, co-founder of the business and currently President, intends to resume the role of CEO that he handed over when Jones joined.
“The last seven months at Thames River have been fascinating and I have enormously enjoyed working with Charlie and his outstanding team,” says Jones. “We have concluded unanimously that Thames River is a fundamentally sound business that does not need radical change. Whilst there are a number of areas where we can continue to enhance the services and investment solutions we provide to our clients, it is critical that this be done by building upon the culture that has made Thames River so successful in the first place. I wish Charlie and the team every continued success going forward.”
Thames River will launch a number of new funds from within the existing investment teams, and start a UK Equity team. It will also invest in some functional areas – including strengthening operational management.
“Glyn has played a key role in guiding Thames River to understand what our optimal structure and strategy should be to ensure the business continues to realise its full potential and I thank him for his invaluable contribution,” concludes Porter. “I fully support the conclusions of his review. By remaining private, we can continue to focus single-mindedly on the things that really matter to a business like Thames River; delivering for our clients outstanding investment performance and preserving a winning culture to ensure we continue to attract and retain the best talent within our industry.”
Founded in 1998 by Charlie Porter and Jonathan Hughes-Morgan with financial backing from Sir John Beckwith, Thames River Capital presently has assets under management of US$8.5 billion deployed across hedge and long only funds in seven investment capabilities – global emerging markets, global credit, European equities, Japanese equities, global bonds, property and hedge fund of funds. The company employs 103 people in London, 63 of them fund managers.