Gartmore Group

Gartmore Group Limited was a British-based investment-management business whose history reflected the consolidation and changing ownership structures of the asset-management industry. The company was established in 1969 by British & Commonwealth and developed as an investment manager rather than as a consumer-facing financial-services brand. Its activities centered on managing investment assets, although the available reference material does not provide a sufficiently detailed breakdown of its specific funds, mandates, distribution channels, or investment strategies. The company changed ownership several times during its existence. Banque Indosuez acquired Gartmore in 1989, connecting the business with a major banking group. Gartmore subsequently returned to the public markets, securing its first listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1993. It was acquired by NatWest in 1996 and later by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company in 2000. In 2006, Gartmore became part of the investment portfolio of Hellman & Friedman, a private-equity fund. These transactions illustrate the company’s movement among banking, insurance, public-market, and private-equity ownership models. Gartmore was re-listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 2009. At 31 December 2009, it reported £22.2 billion in assets under management, making it a substantial institutional and investment-management business by the standards of the period. The available source does not specify the composition of that figure or provide a complete account of its geographic client base and product range. In January 2011, Henderson Group announced that it would acquire Gartmore. The announcement marked the end of Gartmore’s period as an independently listed investment manager and represented another step in the consolidation of the British asset-management sector. Gartmore is therefore best understood as a historical investment-management brand and corporate entity rather than an active standalone financial-services company. Because the supplied reference material is concise and does not document detailed executive biographies, named products, marketing campaigns, or litigation, those fields are left limited rather than supplemented with unverified information.

Gartmore Group Limited was founded in 1969 by British & Commonwealth as a British investment-management business. Its original development took place within the institutional asset-management sector, where businesses typically manage capital for investors rather than sell mass-market consumer products. The available historical account does not identify the company’s initial product portfolio or founding management team beyond its association with British & Commonwealth. In 1989, Gartmore was acquired by Banque Indosuez. This transaction brought the investment manager into a banking-group ownership structure. Four years later, in 1993, Gartmore was first listed on the London Stock Exchange. The flotation gave the business an independent public-market identity after its earlier period under corporate ownership. The company’s ownership changed again in 1996, when NatWest acquired it. In 2000, Gartmore was bought by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, demonstrating the continuing interest of diversified financial institutions in asset-management businesses. In 2006, the company became part of the investment portfolio of Hellman & Friedman, a private-equity fund. This change placed Gartmore within a private-equity investment context and preceded another return to the public markets. Gartmore was re-listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 2009. The company reported £22.2 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2009. This figure provides a documented indication of its scale at that point, although the supplied source does not break the assets down by fund, client type, geography, or investment strategy. In January 2011, Henderson Group announced its acquisition of Gartmore. The announcement represented the company’s final documented ownership transition in the supplied historical material and reflected broader consolidation in the asset-management industry. Following the acquisition, Gartmore ceased to be an independent standalone listed investment-management group. The available reference does not provide enough detail to describe the precise legal integration process, the fate of individual products, or the identity of executives who led the company at different stages. Gartmore is consequently recorded as a defunct historical investment-management brand whose principal documented significance lies in its long sequence of ownership transitions, two periods as a London-listed company, and substantial assets under management before its acquisition by Henderson.

• 2011

  Henderson Group acquisition announcement

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Henderson Group announced its acquisition of Gartmore in January 2011.

• 2009

  Return to the London Stock Exchange

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Gartmore was re-listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 2009.

• 2009

  Reported assets under management

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The company reported £22.2 billion of assets under management as at 31 December 2009.

• 2006

  Hellman & Friedman investment

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Gartmore became part of the investment portfolio of private-equity fund Hellman & Friedman.

• 2000

  Acquisition by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company acquired Gartmore.

• 1996

  Acquisition by NatWest

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  NatWest acquired Gartmore.

• 1993

  First London Stock Exchange listing

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Gartmore was first listed on the London Stock Exchange.

• 1989

  Acquisition by Banque Indosuez

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Banque Indosuez acquired Gartmore, bringing the company into a banking-group ownership structure.

• 1969

  Gartmore is founded

  [1]Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org

  British & Commonwealth founded Gartmore as a British investment-management business.

A British investment-management business serving the asset-management market, with a corporate history shaped by public listing, banking and insurance ownership, private-equity ownership, and eventual acquisition.

• Asset management

  Investment-management services

  Gartmore’s documented business was investment management. It managed investment assets for clients, but the supplied reference does not identify individual named funds, strategies, securities products, or client mandates with sufficient confidence to list them separately.

• 2011

  Henderson Group announces Gartmore acquisitionM&A

  Background

  After multiple ownership changes and Gartmore’s 2009 return to public listing, Henderson Group announced an acquisition of the investment-management company in January 2011.

  Action taken

  Henderson Group announced that it would acquire Gartmore.

  Aftermath

  The announcement marked the transition of Gartmore away from independent listed-company status and its eventual end as a standalone investment-management group.

  Source

1. 1Gartmore Groupen.wikipedia.org