David Ferguson

Retirement planning firm James Hay Partnership told Scottish Financial News that 91.73% of the Nucleus Financial plc shareholders have accepted the recommended cash offer of 188p a share.

Richard Rowney, CEO of James Hay, said: “I’m very pleased that shareholders have overwhelmingly accepted our offer. Shareholder approval is a key milestone in the journey to bring together the respective expertise of Nucleus and James Hay.”

Nucleus Financial was established in 2006 by chief executive David Ferguson, an actuarial mathematics and statistics graduate of Heriot-watt University in Edinburgh.

James Hay’s offer to buy Nucleus Financial Group was announced in February this year. The transaction will bring together the respective expertise of Nucleus and James Hay to create one of the UK’s leading independent adviser platforms with c. £45bn of assets under administration.

In February, Mr Ferguson said: “Becoming part of this enlarged group gives us a key role in a much bigger story where we can create a leading independent platform of scale.”

James Hay has around 700 employees and Nucleus has 392.

In March, the employees of Nucleus said they were opposed to the takeover and highlighted significant anxiety about the impact of the takeover on jobs.

A spokesperson for James Hay said: “Following completion of the Nucleus acquisition, James Hay will perform a review of the combined group’s central and headquarter functions.

“The review and integration process is expected to take up to 12 months and may identify opportunities to leverage skills and talents across the combined group, but may also lead to a moderate reduction in headcount where there is duplication or where operational efficiencies might be achieved.”

The takeover remains subject to regulatory approval.