Private equity-owned platform James Hay has sold its closed book of SSAS schemes to Westbridge SSAS.

Leicester-based Westbridge SSAS is to acquire the near-1,000 scheme SSAS book for an undisclosed sum.

48 members of staff, based at James Hay’s Bristol office, will also transfer across when the deal completes.

The deal is expected to complete next month.

James Hay’s CEO Richard Rowney said the sale simplifies the James Hay business and is another step in its transformation to a retirement-focused adviser platform. He said: “The sale keeps us focused on our core aim of creating a financial planning and retirement focused adviser platform, with the scale to enable greater investment in technology, products and service to meet the needs of advisers and their clients.”

The sale of its SSAS book follows the announcement in February that James Hay is to buy rival Nucleus Financial for £145m in an all-cash deal. The takeover is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021 and the combined business will have Assets Under Advice of an estimated £45bn.