Gresham House agrees deal for Appian Asset Management
Appian Asset Management's Patrick Lawless and Tony Dalwood, CEO of Gresham House
By Petula Martyn
Gresham House, a UK-listed asset management group, has completed the acquisition of Appian Asset Management following regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Ireland.
Appian Asset Management will now be known as Gresham House Ireland.
Patrick Lawless, who founded Appian Asset Management in 2002, has been appointed as Managing Director of Gresham House Ireland and will join the Board of Gresham House Asset Management.
Appian had about €350m in Assets Under Management December 31, 2020 when the deal was announced.
Gresham House is a specialist alternative asset management group dedicated to sustainable investments across a range of strategies with expertise across forestry, housing particularly addressing affordability issues, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy and battery storage and public and private equity investment management.
The business is already a significant investor in forestry asset management in Ireland.
Gresham House has about €4.5 billion in assets under management on behalf of institutions, family offices, charities and endowments, private individuals and their advisers.
Tony Dalwood, chief executive of Gresham House, said he is excited to have competed the acquisition of Appian and to bring the Gresham House brand to the Irish market.
"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. It also accelerates our growth plans, as set out in our five-year strategy known as GH25."
The deal is expected to be earnings enhancing for the group with potential further value creation through synergies and identified growth initiatives.
Patrick Lawless said that the acquisition would bring immediate benefits to institutional and private clients in Ireland and would lead to the roll-out of innovative investment products and strategies in the coming years;
"Our goal is to maintain and develop our existing fund offerings for clients in Ireland and introduce Gresham House's exceptional range of sustainable investments," he said.
"This is a huge growth area internationally and we will be able to bring their market leading investment strategies and platforms to clients here in Ireland," he added.