TIDMNUC TIDMTTM
RNS Number : 9096K
Nucleus Financial Group PLC
07 September 2021
7 September 2021
Nucleus Financial Group plc
("Nucleus")
Strategic Update and Directorate Change
-- Nucleus name to be used for enlarged group, replacing James Hay's name and brand
-- Richard Rowney announces highly experienced group senior leadership team
-- David Ferguson to step down from the Board and leave following a period of handover
-- Adoption of group brand and leadership team enables alignment
on future strategy, without creating operational change for
customers of either platform
On 6(th) August 2021 it was announced that the recommended
takeover offer (the "Offer") by James Hay Holdings Limited ("James
Hay") for the entire issued share capital of Nucleus had been
declared wholly unconditional. As a result, and in line with
commitments given, a strategic review of the Nucleus platform is
underway.
With cGBP47 billion of AUA*, the group is now one of the largest
adviser platform providers in the UK, with the scale to enable
greater investment in technology, products, and service for the
benefit of advisers and their clients.
While the Nucleus and James Hay platforms will continue to
operate separately for the immediate future, and there is no
current change to the operations or services of either, the
strategic review will help to inform the creation of a leading
financial planning and retirement-focused adviser platform,
developed from the best features of both existing platforms. This
will include a comprehensive range of tax wrappers with a leading
SIPP with enhanced drawdown capability, alongside providing value
to advisers through exploiting data, deeply integrating with
practice management systems, and having digital customer journeys
at its heart.
While the full group review remains ongoing, several decisions
have already been reached and the Board is today providing an
update from the initial phase.
Nucleus Brand
After extensive consideration, in recognition of Nucleus'
trusted and leading brand with advisers in the UK platform market,
we are today confirming that the Nucleus name has been chosen to be
used for the group's combined future platform proposition for
advisers. A new visual style to support this decision will be
implemented in the future in line with the group's development
plans, when finalised.
Senior Leadership Team
Having joined the Board of Nucleus earlier this month, Richard
Rowney, Group CEO of James Hay, will now assume day-to-day
responsibility for the leadership of the enlarged group, comprising
both Nucleus and James Hay. Richard will take on the
responsibilities of David Ferguson, Nucleus' departing CEO who has
decided to move on and pursue other opportunities, after a period
of handover. David will be standing down from the Nucleus Board
with immediate effect. Richard will be supported by a highly
experienced leadership team to take the enlarged group forward:
Richard Warner, Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Richard will become Group COO of the combined group. He joined
James Hay in November 2020 and has a significant track record of
operational leadership, transformation and outsource management.
During a 21-year career at Accenture he led one of their largest
outsource contracts and was previously COO at LV= where he helped
develop it into the UK's most trusted and recommended insurer.
Alex Kovach, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
Alex joined James Hay from interactive investor last year where
he led the commercial strategy, including pricing, brand and
driving organic growth during a period where AUA grew from GBP3bn
to GBP40bn. His current distribution, marketing and product
development responsibilities will extend to include the whole
group, including those areas previously covered by Barry Neilson,
the former Nucleus Chief Customer Officer who is leaving.
Alison Longbottom, Chief People Officer (CPO)
Alison joined James Hay in October 2020 and has been confirmed
as CPO for the combined group. Her career spans two decades,
incorporating roles in the UK, Europe and Africa across FTSE 250
companies, private equity, B2B and B2G, and unionised
manufacturing.
These appointments to the leadership team** take effect
immediately, helping to ensure that while there is no change for
the customers of either James Hay or Nucleus, the enlarged group is
taking a coordinated and collective approach towards its combined
future. Other Executive roles are still being considered and will
be announced in due course.
Technology
This initial phase of the review has highlighted the significant
skills, expertise and talent in both Nucleus and James Hay, and the
opportunity this offers the enlarged group to compete successfully
at scale. The combined management team is also working on a
detailed evaluation of the existing technology arrangements and
following completion later this year a further update will be
provided.
CEO Richard Rowney commented: "We remain very excited by the
combination of these two great businesses and are fully focused on
taking the best of both firms forward as we create the leading
retirement-focused adviser platform. The skills and talent within
these organisations, combined with the significant scale of our
combined group will enable greater investment in products, price
and service, and ultimately meet the developing needs of advisers
and their clients.
" Today's announcement is a significant milestone, enabling us
to harness what is best from both businesses, on behalf of our
customers. I would like to reiterate our great respect and
admiration for what David Ferguson has achieved as a founder of
Nucleus, and on behalf of everyone I would like to wish him all the
very best for the future."
Nucleus Founder David Ferguson added: "It's 23 years since we
started work on a collection of ideas that eventually led to the
near GBP20bn platform that Nucleus is today. We aimed to create
something that was truly collaborative, and it was my privilege to
do this with some of the most talented people in the industry. I
hope we've been able to make a contribution towards the positive
changes in the profession over the years, and with the company now
becoming a key part of a much bigger picture with James Hay, it
feels like the right time for me to move on and consider a new
challenge. I hand over to Richard and wish him, his leadership team
and all my colleagues, new and old, best wishes for the
future."
* AUA as at 30 June 2021 (GBP28.3bn James Hay & GBP18.9bn Nucleus)
** Richard Warner, Alex Kovach and Alison Longbottom will not be
joining the board of directors of Nucleus.
Enquiries:
Richard Rowney, Group CEO c/o +44 (0) 7715 317675
TB Cardew (media enquiries)
Tom Allison +44 (0) 7789 998020
Shan Willenbrock +44 (0) 7775 848537
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser
and Corporate Broker to Nucleus) +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
Hugh Morgan
Edward Mansfield
Daniel Bush
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END
BOAEAENKELKFEAA
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