Nucleus Financial Platforms has confirmed that its acquisition of Curtis Banks Group has now received all necessary regulatory approvals.

The move will create a retirement-focused adviser platform with approximately £80bn of assets under administration and help around 5,000 advisers make retirement more rewarding for an estimated 250,000 customers.

Regulators including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have all issued their approvals of the deal, as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded that the transaction does not qualify for investigation under UK merger control law.

Nucleus said that Curtis Banks’ SIPP and SSAS product offering and its presence as a provider to customers with complex retirement needs can complement its own established reputation in the UK platform market, to further support financial advisers and their customers across the full wealth spectrum.

Current interim CEO of Curtis Banks, Peter Docherty, will continue to lead the Curtis Banks business and report to Nucleus group CEO, Richard Rowney.

Rowney said: “We are pleased to have now received regulatory approval and look forward to completing this transformational deal in the coming weeks. We’ll then start working closely with our new colleagues at Curtis Banks to bring together our businesses and provide a best-in-class service to the advisers we serve.”

Docherty added: “Receiving regulatory approval is a key milestone in the acquisition process. Once the transaction completes, we can start to bring our businesses together in a considered, mindful and practical way, ensuring we have the best combination of technologies, operations and structure that can deliver the group’s strategy.”

The acquisition was approved by Curtis Banks shareholders in February and remains subject to a court sanction hearing. Nucleus expects the deal to complete in the coming weeks.

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