Key Takeaways
- • Schroders has completed the sale of Benchmark Capital, its UK financial planning arm, to Söderberg & Partners for more than £200 million, with staff remaining at the company's Horsham campus in West Sussex.
- • The Horsham site, which currently houses over 700 employees from both Schroders and Benchmark Capital, will retain its status as a key operational location following the transaction.
- • Benchmark Capital, one of the UK's leading financial planning businesses, maintains continuity of operations and employment at the shared campus despite the change in ownership.
- • Slaughter and May advised Schroders on the sale, underscoring the transaction's complexity and institutional scale.
Summary
Schroders has successfully divested Benchmark Capital, its financial planning unit, to Söderberg & Partners in a transaction valued at more than £200 million. The sale represents a strategic reshaping of Schroders' asset management portfolio, allowing the UK-listed asset manager to refocus on its core wealth and investment management operations while transferring its financial planning operation to a specialist buyer.
A critical detail for stakeholders is the confirmed stability of Benchmark Capital's workforce and operational base. All staff will remain at Schroders' state-of-the-art Horsham campus in West Sussex, which serves as a shared facility hosting over 700 colleagues from both the parent company and Benchmark Capital. Schroders has explicitly affirmed that the West Sussex location "remains a key location" in its operational footprint, signaling continuity rather than disruption for the business unit post-acquisition.
Benchmark Capital, established as one of the UK's leading financial planning businesses, benefits from the stability of this transition. Rather than facing relocation or restructuring pressures typical of many acquisition scenarios, the business maintains its operational infrastructure and local employment base under new ownership. This arrangement preserves institutional knowledge and client relationships while enabling Söderberg & Partners to integrate the acquired platform into its advisory business.
The transaction was facilitated by leading legal advisors Slaughter and May, which represented Schroders throughout the sale process. This high-caliber advisory engagement reflects both the transaction's materiality and the complexity of transitioning a significant financial planning operation with established client relationships and operational infrastructure. The deal allows Schroders to unlock capital while maintaining geographic presence through its retained campus facility, supporting broader strategic objectives within the group.
A critical detail for stakeholders is the confirmed stability of Benchmark Capital's workforce and operational base. All staff will remain at Schroders' state-of-the-art Horsham campus in West Sussex, which serves as a shared facility hosting over 700 colleagues from both the parent company and Benchmark Capital. Schroders has explicitly affirmed that the West Sussex location "remains a key location" in its operational footprint, signaling continuity rather than disruption for the business unit post-acquisition.
Benchmark Capital, established as one of the UK's leading financial planning businesses, benefits from the stability of this transition. Rather than facing relocation or restructuring pressures typical of many acquisition scenarios, the business maintains its operational infrastructure and local employment base under new ownership. This arrangement preserves institutional knowledge and client relationships while enabling Söderberg & Partners to integrate the acquired platform into its advisory business.
The transaction was facilitated by leading legal advisors Slaughter and May, which represented Schroders throughout the sale process. This high-caliber advisory engagement reflects both the transaction's materiality and the complexity of transitioning a significant financial planning operation with established client relationships and operational infrastructure. The deal allows Schroders to unlock capital while maintaining geographic presence through its retained campus facility, supporting broader strategic objectives within the group.
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