Pensions provider Gaudi has been sold out of administration.
Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) operator Gaudi, which is based in Wiltshire and has 13,500 customers, has been acquired by Platform One. The investment tech firm has also taken on Gaudi’s assets and the more than 20,000 SIPPs it previously managed.
In a statement published on Wednesday (April 26) the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Gaudi was subject to “several upheld final decisions” from the Financial Ombudsman Service, regarding some of investments it allowed within its SIPPs.
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The FCA added that Gaudi's bosses had decided to place the company in administration after concluding the financial liabilities associated with these decisions and other potential decisions would have left the firm insolvent.
Business advisory Quantuma brokered the deal with Platform One, which was completed for an undisclosed sum. Quantuma said that according to its latest set of accounts, Gaudi recorded revenues of £2.1m and had net assets of £1.5m.
With the deal, Quantuma added, Gaudi’s 20 staff would all be transferred to Platform One by Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment).
Quantuma managing director and joint administrator Sean Bucknall said: "Claims arising as a result of a small number of complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service would have rendered the company insolvent and unable to meet the FCA’s capital adequacy test. It was therefore imperative that the directors sought to take appropriate action to protect the interests of their customers and mitigate any impact of an impending insolvency on them.
"I am delighted to have achieved such a positive outcome and am grateful to the FCA and the team at Platform One in the roles they have played in getting this transaction completed and in doing so, protecting the interests of the SIPP holders and securing the long-term future of this business under new ownership."
Quantuma said Platform One had £2.7bn assets under administration on its technology. According to documents filed on Companies House, Gaudi, which had its head office in Salisbury, reported £1.1bn worth of assets under its administration during the financial year to the end of March 2021.
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