Australian fund management firm EC Pohl has explained why it decided to buy Sanford DeLand, a Leeds-based firm with two funds, after an 18 month process.
EC Pohl is run by Manny Pohl, a South African who moved to Australia in the early 1990s and launched his fund house which now has assets of £1.5bn.
Sanford DeLand was founded by Keith Ashworth-Lord, who is also chief investment officer of the business. It has two funds and assets under management of about £360mn.
The meeting between the two businesses happened after the pair were introduced by a mutual acquaintance.
It was not initially intended to lead to a sale of the firm as a partnership between the businesses was the initial idea.
But Pohl was keen to enter the UK market.
He told FT Adviser: “If you want to be recognised as a money manager you need to be in London or New York. That’s where the best are.
“We were bumping against a capacity limit in our Australian offering and I felt we needed a global product and to test ourselves against the best.”
He said he instantly connected with Ashworth-Lord, who he thought of as a like-minded person.
Nothing came of the original partnership idea, but Ashworth-Lord’s had started to think about succession planning at his firm.
He had initial conversations with five firms, including EC Pohl.
Ashworth-Lord said: “One of the things I have been pondering for some time is bringing on the next generation. I have done that now.
“I knew I was hitting a big birthday, and so at a board meeting in January, I said it was time to step aside.
“I wanted to ensure there was a solution for all three stakeholders in the business — the investors in the funds, the shareholders and the employees.
“I got in touch with Manny and with another interested party directly – another four came forward via our ACD. The other five just wanted to take part of the business, but that wasn’t a solution.”
Succession planning was similarly on Pohl’s mind.
He said: “I am at the geriatric stage of my career, but everyone else in the firm is in their 30s and 40s.
“Two of my sons work in the firm and are the young team coming through, which is now recognised by the asset consultants.”
EC Pohl does not currently have regulatory permissions to operate in the UK, but does in Ireland.
Buying Sanford DeLand means Pohl can market his global equity fund to a UK adviser audience, while the Sandford DeLand funds can be marketed in Europe, where Pohl has a licence.
Companies House documents, examined by FT Adviser, show SanfordDe Land’s profits halved for the year to the end of March 2025, to £1.2mn.
Dividends of just under £8mn were paid to shareholders, an increase of £5.2mn on the previous year.