Curtis Banks is eyeing more deals for life company Sipp books, according to its chief executive Rupert Curtis.
Speaking with New Model Adviser®, Curtis (pictured) said that taking on Sipp books from life companies could be something we see more of going forward.
‘There are more companies selling out there than buying and we see a big area of interest as insurance companies and legacy books they might have where it’s not part their core business,’ he said.
Curtis Banks has made a number of deals with insurance companies in recent months. In recent months it has takien on a Sipp book from Zurich last October and bought Legal & General owned Suffolk Life for £45 million in January.
Curtis said the company is now used to dealing with life companies and this has created a lot of opportunities for Curtis Banks.
‘Insurance companies know us and know we have credibility and that we can deal with big insurance companies, so it’s opening a lot of doors in terms of conversations we are having. We think there is probably more potential in insurance company books becoming available than in what you might call the bespoke Sipp market,’ he said.
‘In the bespoke Sipp market a lot of the deals have been done already, and if you take Suffolk Life out of the equation I’m not sure where you might look next in terms of other big books. There is not so much there, but on the insurance side there is a lot more potential.’
Curtis said that although the Suffolk Life deal will take up a lot of the firm’s attention this year, it would not be a ‘surprise’ if the firm makes another acquisition in 2016.
‘It’s a big one to integrate but on the other hand it’s already there, the staff are there, the systems, the amount of integration is not that involved because it’s fully functioning.’
He said that there has been no change of plans with the integration strategy and the firm is currently working with the regulator to get the deal cleared. He expects this to come through by the end of the month, and then ‘full steam ahead in terms of integrating the two firms and taking it forward’.
Source: New Model Adviser