Financial services giant Quilter has rejected reports that it has delayed the next deferred payment to acquired advice business Charles Derby.
The firm bought Charles Derby, which was part of Quilter’s advice network, for £32m ($43m, €36m) in February 2019.
It had acquired a £2m stake in the company several years before the M&A deal was agreed.
In 2019, Quilter agreed to pay £30m for the remainder of the firm; in the form of an initial cash payment of £21m and deferred payments for the rest.
Recent reports said Quilter delayed the first of the deferred payments to Charles Derby’s shareholders and advisers, which was reportedly due in August 2020.
Not due yet
But Quilter denied that this was the case.
Stephen Gazard, chief executive of Quilter Financial Planning, said: “We have been following the pre-agreed processes following the purchase of Charles Derby and working with shareholder’s representatives to reconcile the value of the deferred consideration payments that will be due.
“Under the terms of the agreement, payments are not due until the assets under advice is agreed, which we are expecting to determine by end of December.
“We are conscious of the current economic environment and its impact on advisers; so are in the process of making an interim payment of 75% of the expected figure, which is in advance of when we are obliged to so.
“The acquisition of Charles Derby has been an important step in the development of our national advice business and we place a huge amount of value on the relationship with the management, staff and advisers within the business.”
