Equiom, the Isle of Man-based wealth advisory group, has entered a £240m sale process and is fielding second-round bids from both trade and private equity buyers, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The firm declined to comment. ‘We do not comment on market speculation or shareholder related matters,’ a spokesperson said.
What Equiom Brings to the Equiom £240m Sale
Founded in 1968, Equiom originally operated as part of EY before Anglo Irish Bank acquired it in 2003. A management buyout in 2006 established it as an independent business.
The group employs 450 people across 12 offices, including locations in Monaco, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Its client base spans family offices and high-net-worth individuals.
According to Equiom’s global overview brochure, the firm administers approximately £150 billion in asset value, a figure that will inform how bidders assess pricing relative to the £240m headline.
Equiom has itself been acquisitive. It absorbed HF Fund Services in 2020, though its Netherlands operations were later sold to fund services provider Hawksford in 2025.
A Consolidating Sector
The Equiom £240m sale sits inside a broader wave of dealmaking across wealth advisory and fund services. Private equity firms are rolling up smaller operators; larger groups are scaling to absorb outsourced work as regulation drives up costs.
NatWest announced the acquisition of Evelyn Partners on 9 February 2026, beating Barclays in the bidding process, according to The Guardian. At £2.7 billion, it is NatWest’s largest acquisition since its taxpayer bailout in 2008.
Yahoo Finance reported NatWest estimates annual cost savings of around £100 million from combining Evelyn with its existing business, including private bank Coutts. The deal was expected to complete in the summer following the February 2026 announcement.
Prior to that, Sussex-based Thesis purchased Evelyn Partners’ fund solution business in early 2025, doubling its scale and market share. Amber River and Cannord Wealth have also been put up for sale by their respective owners, according to reports.
Foreign buyers are active too. Suntera Global acquired Khepri Limited, while SS&C Technologies agreed to purchase fund administration platform Calastone for £766 million in July 2025.
SS&C completed that acquisition on 13 October 2025, with Calastone’s 250 employees folded into SS&C Global Investor & Distribution Solutions, according to Business Wire. A Nasdaq press release put the sterling price at an equivalent of approximately $1.03 billion, describing Calastone as the largest global funds network at the time of completion.
With second-round bids now in, the identity of Equiom’s eventual buyer will be the next test of how aggressively trade and private equity buyers are prepared to compete in a tightening market for mid-sized wealth services assets.
