Rathbone acquires Liverpool broker

Rathbone Brothers, the quoted private banking and asset management group, yesterday agreed takeover terms worth pounds 15.9m for Neilson Cobbold, one of Liverpool's oldest stockbroking firms.

The combined company will have more than pounds 2.3bn in discretionary funds under management, plus a further pounds 1.5bn in advisory funds, of which pounds 300m are held in personal equity plans.

The deal will also allow Rathbone to develop its coverage outside its traditional London and Liverpool heartlands into the South and North- west of England, together with Scotland.

Micky Ingall, chief executive at Rathbone, said: "Taken with the acquisition of Lawrence Keen [the stockbrokers] last year, this will meet our core objective of building a major business group specialising in the provision of investment management and banking services for private investors, their trusts and charities.

"Discretionary management will continue to be the major business activity, together with a range of complementary services, including banking, stockbroking, trust and company management and financial planning."

Mr Ingall added that Neilson Cobbold, which achieved profits of pounds 942,000 on turnover of pounds 4.8m in the six months to 31 March, was not expected to contribute significantly to the enlarged group in 1996. Full benefits would flow through in 1997.