FCA approves James Hay’s £145m acquisition of Nucleus

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has approved James Hay’s £145m acquisition of financial adviser platform, Nucleus.

As reported by our sister publication, FStech, the combined financial planning and retirement platform that is set to be formed will have £47bn of assets under management.

The Salisbury-based James Hay’s parent company the IFG Group was sold to private equity firm Epiris for £206m in 2019. It currently employs around 600 people in the UK.

Hay chief executive, Richard Rowney, will lead the new platform.

However, the platforms are set to operate independently for the “foreseeable future” as plans for the integration are finalised.

The deal received 92% approval from Nucleus’s shareholders and the transaction is now only subject to formalities.

The leadership structure of the new platform is yet to be announced, and there is no confirmation about whether David Ferguson, who founded Nucleus in 2006, will join the board.

Nucleus has reported strong performance in recent months; it reported assets under administration for its most recent financial quarter grew 19.2% to £18.9bn.

“We see this as a coming together of the very best parts of both businesses, building on our retirement expertise and their digital capability to develop a service that truly meets the needs of advisers and their customers,” said Rowney.

“Since 2006 we’ve always tried to do the right thing and put the customer centre stage,” added Nucleus chief executive, David Ferguson. “Actually meaning that has made us a little bit different from others in the sector but it also carried us to £19bn in assets under administration and led to this deal

“We have full respect for the challenges ahead and are energised by the goal of working with our new colleagues to create the UK’s most respected and successful adviser platform.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.

Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.