Curtis Banks PLC has announced today that it has acquired the Full SIPP business of Alliance Trust Savings which will result in the transfer of almost 6,000 Sipps worth approximately £2bn in assets under management.
The acquisition will be completed by the end of this year and will mean 6,000 Full SIPPs and £3bn in assets under administration (AUA) being transferred to the Curtis Banks, a Ssas and Sipp specialist. The cost of the acquisition has not been disclosed.

Curtis Banks says it will retain affected staff in both Dundee and London, to ensure continuity of service and retention of key expertise.

Curtis Banks is a provider of self-invested pension schemes and its senior team has been involved with Ssass since 1977 and Sipps since 1995. The acquisition will make Curtis Banks a bigger operator in the Full SIPP market by client numbers and assets under management.

Scottish-based Alliance Trust Savings is a financial services company managing a platform for investors and advisers. Platform business will be the key focus of Alliance Trust Savings in future with a commitment to both the advised and direct markets. The company will continue to operate in the pensions market via its Select Sipp.

Rupert Curtis, managing director of Curtis Banks PLC, said: "We are delighted to have been selected by Alliance Trust Savings to take forward their Full Sipp business. This is a quality book of business and our retention of staff and processes will ensure "business as usual" while providing a strong foundation for future development.

"Regulatory expectations are creating challenges for Sipp operators and we have developed a robust business model which safeguards our future and that of our clients. This acquisition will make us a "top 5" Full Sipp provider, with over 10,000 clients, and leaves Curtis Banks well placed to succeed in the current business environment."



Patrick Mill, managing director at Alliance Trust Savings, said: "One of our main concerns when considering the sale of this business was to ensure that our customers and staff experienced minimal disruption. We worked hard to ensure that all staff will be retained from both the Dundee and London offices and that Curtis Banks' commitment to this market will ensure our customers continue to receive high levels of service going forward.

"By selling our Ssas and full Sipp books this year we can focus entirely on the growth of our platform business. We anticipate significant growth opportunities in the platform market over the next few years as our proposition is ideally placed to benefit from the transparency that will be brought in as a part of the FSA's Retail Distribution Review (RDR)."

Curtis Banks was formed by Rupert Curtis and Christopher Banks, two experienced Sipp and Ssas operators, and has grown as a provider of these products. The company is based in Bristol and employs around 50 staff with around 5,000 Sipp and Ssas clients and assets under administration approaching £1bn. The Curtis Banks Sipp has held a Defaqto 5 star rating since its creation. The company has expanded by organic growth and also by the acquisition of the Montpelier SIPP book in 2011, which was successfully integrated into the business.

• The latest issue of Financial Planner magazine, published this month (October), includes a Sipp survey.