Hargreaves Lansdown: What is happening with the takeover deal?

A final offer has been made to buy the UK’s largest investment platform.

A group of private equity investors have tabled a £5.4bn offer, which the board of Hargreaves Lansdown has recommended to shareholders.

The consortium is comprised of CVC, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Hargreaves Lansdown employs about 2,400 people, most of whom work in its flagship offices at Bristol’s harbourside. In their offer document the consortium has committed to keeping the main HQ in the city.

The company’s shareholders will have the final say on the deal when they vote in a few weeks time.

The company’s founders, Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown, own 26% of the shares between them.

The financial firm was founded in 1981 by the pair, using a spare bedroom in Mr Hargreaves’ house and a couple of borrowed desks.

It now has 1.8 million customers who invest their savings and pensions with the company.

The consortium’s leaders have released a joint statement, which said that Hargreaves Lansdown has “an important purpose: to make it easy for people to save and invest for a better future”.

“Over the 40 years since it was founded, Hargreaves Lansdown has built a strong, trusted brand, underpinned by high levels of customer loyalty and advocacy,” the group said.

Despite these strengths, the consortium said the company now requires substantial investment in an “extensive technology-led transformation”, in order to drive the next phase of growth and development.

They added: “The consortium brings extensive experience in supporting businesses undergoing transformation, and its members have long records of investing in regulated financial services companies to build better businesses and create better customer experiences.”

The plan moving forward is to invest in technology infrastructure, digital channels and service enhancement, the group added.