Liontrust buys Hawksmoor's £1.9bn funds and MPS business for up to £10m.

Liontrust has agreed to buy Hawksmoor Investment Management's fund management and model portfolio business from Shackleton Advisers (RNS, 30 September). It pays £6m in cash on completion, plus up to £4m in two earn-outs tied to run-rate revenue at 12 and 24 months. The deal brings c.£1.9bn of assets at 31 August: £473m in the three MI Hawksmoor multi-asset funds (Vanbrugh, Distribution and Global Opportunities), £1,004m in four VT Redlands segregated mandates and £445m in model portfolios. Completion is targeted before 31 December.

Ben Conway, Head of Fund Management, and his team "will continue to manage the acquired funds and mandates within Liontrust's Multi-Asset team" under John Husselbee. Richard Philbin continues to run the MPS. Liontrust says Vanbrugh and Distribution are first quartile in their IA sectors over one, three and five years. Each of the three Hawksmoor funds invests at least 70% in external open-ended and listed closed-ended funds (fund factsheets, 31 August).

"Hawksmoor is a really strong addition to the Multi-Asset capability that we have developed over the past few years," said Husselbee, adding that it expands "our coverage of investment trusts and alternatives". Chief executive John Ions: "Ben Conway and his team have a highly respected business, having built strong relationships with financial advisers and a loyal client base." He said advisers increasingly "seek to partner with specialist asset managers for the outsourcing of investment management." Paul Feeney, Shackleton chief executive: "Shackleton wanted to find a home that could offer the support and environment to help the business flourish, and we know Liontrust provides this."