Goshawk Asset Management has announced the acquisition of Vermeer Investment Management.

The private client investment management business of Vermeer Investment Management, trading as Vermeer Partners, is not part of the acquisition and will continue to operate independently.

Goshawk is the global equity boutique launched by Alex Illingworth and Harwood Capital Management and was founded last year after Illingworth left Artemis, where he co-managed the Mid Wynd International Investment Trust and the Artemis Global Select Fund.

Vermeer Investment Management was set up in 2014, with the Vermeer Global Fund launched in December 2016 and domiciled in Dublin.

The £60.8m fund is managed by Vermeer founders, Tim Gregory and James Rowsell, as well as Charlie Fricker, and all three have now joined Goshawk. The fund is expected to be renamed the Goshawk Global Fund.

Illingworth, who will join the management team on the fund, said: “The Vermeer performance has been outstanding since inception, and Tim, James and Charlie are an ideal fit for us, since we share very similar investment mindsets.

“We’re creating the capability and the relationships to manage a number of global equity mandates, and the Vermeer Global Fund benefits from already being available on many of the major retail platforms.”

Gregory added: “We see this move as an opportunity to build on eight years of success, to bring depth to the team and to reach a bigger audience.”

---