Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Acquires Private Client Investment Manager

Lisa Ugur, Tax-news.com, London

02 January 2001

Quilter & Co, the London-based investment management group currently owned by CGNU Plc, has announced that it has concluded negotiations for the sale of Quilter Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Quilter & Co and Quilter & Co (Channel Islands), to US financial services giant Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW). The deal, which should complete in the first quarter of 2001, means that the Quilter offices in Jersey and Guernsey are set to expand under the ownership of MSDW.

Quilter is a private client investment management group geared towards high net worth clients, and a large proportion of its business is conducted in the Channel Islands. MSDW is paying £172m for Quilter, which specialises in segregated account management and advisory services to private individuals, pension funds and trusts.

A press statement from Quilter said: 'MSDW is committed to meeting the needs of the private investor and the institutional market and the acquisition of Quilter & Co is an important strategic milestone for MSDW in the development of its global private individual investor services and will be integral to its expansion in the UK and Continental Europe. The company will continue in its current offices and the existing client relationships with fund managers will not be disturbed.'

Commenting on the transaction, Richard M. DeMartini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's International Private Client Group, said: 'We are especially attracted to Quilter's strong management, first rate professional staff, tremendous service for individual investors, and its focus on fee-based segregated account management. With its well-established reputation and national presence, Quilter's high quality, advice-based approach provides an ideal platform to leverage Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's business in the UK.'

Sir David Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Europe, added: 'This acquisition.... underscores our commitment to develop further our European business with a broad balance of capabilities at the individual investor level, in line with our well-established model in the United States.'

QUILTER & Co in Jersey are likely to expand following their acquisition by financial services giant Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW).

Nick Morel-Orchard, who manages Quilter's operations in the Channel Islands, said that the MSDW deal was good news for the Jersey business: 'We couldn’t be more delighted. This brings a great name to the Channel Islands, and, although they do business here, this gives MSDW their first offices in Jersey and Guernsey,' he said.

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