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The Irish asset management firm will become Gresham House Ireland and the deal aims to bring benefits to institutional and private clients in Ireland.
UK-listed asset management group Gresham House has completed its acquisition of Ireland’s Appian Asset Management following regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Ireland.
The firm, which is dedicated to sustainable investments across a range of strategies including forestry, renewable energy and batter storage, already has about €4.5bn in assets under management.
Last month, Gresham House led a €9m investment round in Wexford-based delivery management software company Scurri.
As of December 2020, Appian Asset Management had about €350m in assets under management. The acquisition will see the Irish firm become known as Gresham House Ireland.
Appian Asset Management’s founder Patrick Lawless, who has been appointed managing director of Gresham House Ireland, said the deal will mean the firm’s existing product range can be enhanced over time due to Gresham House’s resources.
“We have much to look forward to as Gresham House is already a significant investor in forestry asset management in Ireland and intends to use the platform here to grow specialist and alternative asset management products, and as a gateway into Europe over the long term,” he said.
“Sustainability and sustainable investing are a core part of Gresham House and we look forward to benefiting from the research and investment that has been made in this area.”
An EU-based entity
Gresham House’s chief executive Tony Dalwood said: “Our ambition is to increase investment into Ireland and the transaction forms part of our international expansion plans with the addition of a regulated EU-based platform post-Brexit.”
The acquisition aims to establish Gresham House’s offering in Europe through a regulated EU-based entity within the Eurozone and to develop existing strategies in Ireland and Europe.
The news comes as the EU’s digital levy is likely to be delayed until later in the year, according to the Financial Times.
The levy is intended to apply to hundreds of companies in the digital economy, the majority of them European.
However, while the European Commission was due to propose the initiative around mid-July, this has been reportedly pushed out until autumn amid growing pressure from the US.
