Redmayne Bentley to acquire client assets of failed Liverpool broker
UK wealth management and stockbroking firm Redmayne Bentley is acquiring the private client business of failed Liverpool broker, Blankstone Sington, subject to regulatory and Court approval.
Leonard Curtis was appointed as the Special Administrator for wealth manager and stockbroker Blankstone Sington on October 13, 2023, securing all clients’ assets and safeguarding the company’s systems.
The firm had more than £400m of funds under management when it entered special administration that month.
It was best known in the region as the only stockbroker dealing in shares of Everton FC.
Leonard Curtis has deemed the most favourable solution for Blankstone Sington clients is for a transfer of their money and assets to a single broker, which is also regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority).
Having undertaken a thorough process with a number of parties, Redmayne Bentley was selected as the preferred candidate.
The transfer will enable clients to be reunited with their assets and provides them with a secure home for the long term at one of the largest independent private client wealth management and stockbroking firms in the UK.
Leonard Curtis has confirmed the details of the proposed Distribution Plan to Blankstone Sington clients and notified them of the planned transfer to Redmayne Bentley.
The completion of the transfer is expected in late June, as part of the process Blankstone Sington clients will not be able to speak to Redmayne Bentley until this point. In the meantime, information and support is available to clients affected at www.leonardcurtis.co.uk/case/blankstone
Stuart Davis, Redmayne Bentley chief executive, said: “Being a privately-owned business of 150 years standing, we look forward to providing these clients with some stability and certainty going forward. Our service proposition, and the high levels of client service that we have always strived to deliver, provide a natural fit for Blankstone Sington clients.
“We are entering the final stages of regulatory and legal approvals but have passed key milestones such as signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement and submitting Migration Plans to the regulator. We continue to work with other external parties to ensure a smooth transition for clients.”
He added: “We are excited to be able to provide these clients with our personal investment management, financial planning and traditional stockbroking services, as we continue to grow and invest in the business for our long-term future.”
Redmayne Bentley has previously successfully onboarded large scale transfers of clients from other firms, including Havelock Hunter, Fyshe Horton Finney, and SP Angel.
On November 16, 2021, the FCA took temporary action to prevent Blankstone Sington from disposing or diminishing the value of its own assets, accepting new client money or new custody assets from existing clients and from opening new client accounts, without the FCA’s written consent.
Blankstone Sington said this action was due to “the loss of several experience staff who cannot easily be replaced”.
On November 1, 2022, Blankstone Sington, revealed it had recorded an annual loss due to the continued impact of actions by the FCA, it said.
The company announced that it had fallen to a pre-tax loss of £531,731 for the 12 months to May 31, 2022, compared with a profit of £63,618 in the previous year.
Its turnover remained static at £3.2m over the same period, but its funds under management fell from £472.4m to £401.8m.
In February, last year, the firm was declared ‘failed’ by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme).
Last month it was announced that Neil Blankstone, former director of Blankstone Sington, had joined Leicester-based GHC Capital Markets as Head of Trading, with plans to expand its Investment Management, Stockbroking and Wealth Management services into Liverpool and across the North West.
