One of the largest venture capital investors in the UK, Albion Ventures, is to acquire GBP490 million OLIM Investment Managers from Close Brothers Group.
OLIM is a fund manager specialising in UK quoted equities with a particular focus on charities, for which it manages GBP240 million, and in investment and other trusts (GBP170 million) and private clients (GBP80 million). The business was founded in 1986 and has been part of the Close Brothers Group since 2000. Angela Lascelles, the joint founder, will remain Chief Executive of OLIM and the existing investment management team will continue to manage its range of funds and segregated portfolios.
OLIM’s investment products include the Close OLIM UK Equity Income Fund; the Charity Value and Income Fund, a common investment fund aimed at smaller charities; and the Value and Income Trust plc, which invests both in UK equities and direct property.
The acquisition of OLIM is the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken by Albion to grow and diversify its investment management activities beyond its range of six Venture Capital Trusts. Albion Community Power was launched in 2013 to build, control and operate community-scale UK renewable projects. Albion Care Communities was established in 2015 to develop and operate luxury care homes for the elderly. Earlier this year Albion was appointed to manage and administer the newly-launched UCL Technology Fund, which raised GBP50 million to commercialise University College London’s world-class research output.
Patrick Reeve, (pictured) Managing Partner of Albion, says: “This is a transformational acquisition for Albion, doubling our assets under management and administration to almost GBP1 billion. We are delighted with the benefits it will deliver to both sides; OLIM’s expertise in quoted equities adds a new dimension to our business, and there are a number of areas where we can help them grow, including aspects of sales and marketing and our knowledge of specialist investment areas such as health care.”
Angela Lascelles, Chief Executive of OLIM, says: “We have known the Albion team for many years and there is a strong complementary fit between the businesses, both in terms of investment focus and culture. We are really looking forward to joining them.”
Martin Andrew, Chief Executive of Close Brothers Asset Management, says: “As we continue to focus on developing our integrated wealth management proposition, we decided to look for a new owner for OLIM who is better placed to take the business to the next stage of its evolution. We know Albion well, we welcomed their approach and wish the enlarged business every success in the future”.
