Platform firm Nucleus is set to buy SIPP and SSAS provider Curtis Banks for £242m in an agreed cash offer.

Nucleus will pay 350 pence for each Curtis Banks share, a 32% premium to the Curtis Banks share price on 24 November.

Curtis Banks directors have recommended the all-cash deal to shareholders.

Curtis Banks is one of the UK's biggest SIPP and SSA firms.

Nucleus says the combination of the Nucleus Group and the Curtis Banks Group will create a, “leading retirement-focused adviser platform” with approximately £80bn in assets under administration.

In a statement today, Nucleus said: “The combined group will offer a broader, more flexible product and service offering to the benefit of financial advisers and their customers.

“The combination of Curtis Banks’ award-winning SIPP and SSAS product offering and strong presence as a provider to customers with complex retirement needs with Nucleus’ established reputation in the UK platform market will create a comprehensive proposition to support financial advisers and their customers across the full wealth spectrum.

“Advisers currently served by Curtis Banks will also benefit from access to a broader suite of platform services available within the Nucleus Group’s existing offering, including ISAs, GIAs and onshore and offshore bonds.”

Nucleus says the combined group will also benefit from scale efficiencies and further investment in technology and service.

The Nucleus Group, itself acquired recently by the James Hay Group, is primarily a platform group and includes the investment platforms James Hay Online and Nucleus Wrap. These adviser platforms together administer approximately £43 billion of assets, with active relationships with over 4,000 financial advisers who look after 160,000 UK clients.

In August 2021, James Hay Partnership acquired Nucleus Financial Group plc and combined both businesses to create the Nucleus Group. Major shareholders in the Nucleus Group are private equity firms HPS and Epiris. Epiris sold a majority stake in the Nucleus Group to HPS.

Richard Rowney, group CEO of the Nucleus Group, said: “We’re delighted to be announcing today the acquisition of Curtis Banks, which on completion will become part of our leading independent adviser platform group, with approximately £80 billion in combined AuA.

“Our ambition remains to create the UK’s leading platform, exclusively for financial advisers to help them make retirement more rewarding for their customers. We’re already demonstrating the benefits of scale, enabling investment in technology, people, products, price and service.

“As one of the UK's largest independent SIPP and SSAS providers, Curtis Banks not only adds significant scale to our business, but will complement our existing expertise and benefit our combined adviser base providing added flexibility and optionality.”

David Barral, executive chairman of Curtis Banks, said: "The board of Curtis Banks is pleased to be recommending the Nucleus Group’s offer for the company, which represents a significant premium in cash and offers certain value for our shareholders.

“Curtis Banks recognises Nucleus’ established reputation and strength in the adviser platform market, as well as our shared customer-centric approach and aligned corporate values. We believe that the combined group’s greater scale, efficient platform, broader product proposition and enhanced ability to invest in technology and service will benefit all stakeholders."