A group of private equity firms submitted initial bids for Benchmark Capital, the financial planning business of Schroders, Sky News reported Monday, as the British asset manager moves ahead with a 9.9 billion pound ($13.38 billion) takeover by U.S. rival Nuveen.
Shares of the British money manager were flat during market hours.
Reuters first reported in December 2025 that Schroders was considering a sale of its Benchmark unit, as part of efforts to expand its wealth management business under CEO Richard Oldfield.
Buyout firms Hg, TowerBrook and Vitruvian Partners have submitted offers for Benchmark, while U.S. buyout firm Aquiline Capital Partners is also among the interested parties, the report said, citing City sources.
Schroders, Hg, TowerBrook and Aquiline declined to comment. Vitruvian Partners did not respond to the requests for comment.
Last week, Schroders’ shareholders agreed to the sale of the 222-year-old London firm to Nuveen, creating a combined entity with $2.5 trillion in assets under management at a time when mid-sized asset managers face pressure to merge to compete with bigger U.S. rivals.
The money manager first took a stake in Benchmark Capital in 2016 and in 2021, it acquired the remaining minority interest in the business.
Benchmark had 38.6 billion pounds in assets under management as of December 31, 2025, the money manager reported in its first-quarter trading update last week.
Source: Reuters.com