The Board of Rathbones announces that further to the announcement made on 21 August 2017, exclusive merger discussions with Smith & Williamson have been terminated.

Following very extensive due diligence and negotiations, we have been unable to conclude a transaction that is in the best interests of Rathbones shareholders.

Philip Howell, Chief Executive said:

“We continue to believe that our proposition was both a compelling strategic and value creation opportunity for all Smith & Williamson’s stakeholders. The potential combination was intended to accelerate Rathbones’ existing strategy, but ultimately we were unable to agree terms that offered our shareholders an appropriate balance of risk and reward. Rathbones remains confident in its strategy and will continue to look for growth opportunities in the sector and assess them with discipline.”

Rathbones has incurred a non-underlying charge of approximately £5 million in 2017 for expenses associated with the prospective transaction, of which £1.8 million was reported within other expenses in our interim statement for the six months ended 30 June 2017.

The person responsible for arranging this announcement on behalf of Rathbones is Ali Johnson, Company Secretary.

For further information contact:

Rathbones Group Plc

Philip Howell, Chief Executive
Paul Stockton, Finance Director

+44 (0) 20 7399 0000

Camarco (Communications Adviser)

Ed Gascoigne-Pees

Hazel Stevenson                                                  

+44 (0) 20 3757 4984

+44 (0) 20 3757 4989                                                 

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe such restrictions.  Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.

This announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute, represent or form part of any offer, invitation or solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities whether pursuant to this announcement or otherwise.