Deutsche Bank disclosed plans yesterday to move back into UK asset management only 12 months after withdrawing from it. The German bank announced that it was buying Tilney Group, which manages £6.7 billion on behalf of 15,000 individual and institutional clients, from the private equity group Bridgepoint.
The price is understood to be £350 million, enabling Bridgepoint to book a 200 per cent profit after only 18 months. Last year Deutsche abandoned asset management in Britain, selling the UK division of Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) to Aberdeen Asset Management for £265 million. The business, which managed assets of about £46 billion, had stuggled in the face of disappointing equities performance that led to mandate losses.
Deutsche described Tilney as a key element in its private wealth management strategy and had no comment on the contrast with the DeAM disposal. Tilney focuses on wealthy personal customers; DeAM was more pitched at institutional investors, such as pension funds.