Shares of AssetCo (LON: ASTO), a provider of management and resources to the fire and emergency services, jumped on Monday after the company revealed that veteran fund manager, Martin Gilbert, along with Peter McKellar, various associates and funds managed by Toscafund Asset Management, have taken a 29.8% stake in the firm.
AssetCo’s stock price is currently trading 86.51% higher at 882p following Friday’s close at 472p.
Gilbert, the former vice-chairman of Standard Life, has taken a 9.9% position in the company while Mckellar has taken 3.4% in the company with both joining the board as non-executive directors.
“We believe that the next few years will see significant investment opportunities in the financial services sector as some of the pressures that the industry faces from regulation, fee pressure, technology and changing client preferences force further, and arguably a faster pace of change. We believe that AssetCo can be a platform to make strategic investments across the sector and to bring active management to such opportunities,” commented Gilbert.
Last week AssetCo announced it bought a 2.9% stake in River & mercantile, an asset management group that recently announced Gilbert as its deputy chair.
Gilbert co-founded Aberdeen Asset Management in 1983 with the company going on to merge with Standard Life in 2017, creating the UK’s largest asset management firm and the second biggest in Europe.
“We are delighted to welcome Martin Gilbert, Peter McKellar and Toscafund Asset Management as major shareholders in the Company. We look forward to working closely with them to create value for all the AssetCo shareholders by continuing with the current strategy and assessing other opportunities as they arise,” said Tudor Davies AssetCo’s chairman.