Close Brothers sells offshore assets

10th Mar 2011 09:54

Close Brothers its selling its UK offshore trust, administration, asset management and bank operations to Kleinwort Benson Channel Islands for £29.1m.The business is based in Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and South Africa and made a profit of £700,000 in the year to July 2010. There were £474m of funds under management and £566m of customer deposits, including £400m of deposits with Close's UK bank, at the end of July 2010. The loss on disposal will be around £24.7m. There will be a provision of £4.5m for a long-lease commitment. Close intends to concentrate on its core banking, UK asset management and market making businesses. The disposal requires regulatory approval but it should be completed by July.