Strategy
JOHIM Gets A Makeover Under New Brand: Welcome To "Waverton"
The name of JO Hambro Investment Management is no more: from today, the UK-based investment firm is called Waverton, as the business takes on a new identity following its sale by Credit Suisse last year.
The JO Hambro Investment Management business sold by Credit Suisse last
year to management and external investors is rebranding itself as
Waverton today, a move that removes one of several firms with the
Hambro tag and that will hopefully create a more distinct
identity, the firm says.
From today, JOHIM will now be called Waverton – the moniker is the name of the ancestral Hambro family home in Gloucestershire. In other respects, the investment house, which at the end of December last year oversaw around £4.5 billion ($7.4 billion) of client money, will be unaffected. It is based in St James’s Square in London and employs 109 people.
"This is the third part of our evolution. From 1986 to 2001, the shares of JOHIM were owned by members of the Hambro family and directors; in 2001, it was sold and 100 per cent of the firm was owned by Credit Suisse up until August of last year when the bank agreed to sell it to its management and investors," Stephen Browne, head of marketing at the firm, told WealthBriefing in a telephone call about the changes.
The name shift has happened because there was a clause in the agreement at the time of the Credit Suisse purchase of the business saying that, in the event of a sale, the Hambro name could no longer be used. Also, as there are several other entities with the name Hambro, the name change to Waverton - the name of the Hambro family home in Gloucestershire - avoids confusion. The Waverton name is already used by the in-house range of funds that the firm has run since 2004, he said.
The name change to Waverton takes effect from today. Clients are in the process of being informed.
The business will remain the same; it is entirely focused on discretionary wealth management, serving private clients, charities and institutions. The business is 37.5 per cent owned by its directors and the balance is owned by Bermuda-listed financial services group Somers Limited, Browne added.
