Gartmore brand axed after £355m takeover

Henderson Global Investors is to axe the Gartmore brand when its £355 million takeover of the troubled investment manager is completed in April.

It has also revealed that 14 Gartmore funds will be closed and the merging funds rebranded under the Henderson name after the deal is rubber-stamped at the end of next month.

The move means seven Gartmore fund managers will not join the newly enlarged group. They include John Anderson, head of credit, and head of UK equities, Leigh Himsworth. Asia manager Jan de Brujin, UK income fund manager Dan Roberts and high yield manager Kam Tugnait will also leave.

David Jacob, chief investment officer at Henderson, said: "The acquisition will reinforce our position as a diversified asset manager, strengthening our traditional product range as well as expanding our absolute return franchise. I am delighted that we have secured all the Gartmore investment teams that we identified for permanent positions within the combined group."

The merger followed a series of high-profile blows that saw investors withdraw millions from Gartmore last year.

It was embroiled in controversy when fund manager Guillaume Rambourg was suspended and later quit over an in-house investigation into claims that he breached company rules. That was followed in September by the departure of the experienced Gervais Williams, before star fund manager Roger Guy announced his retirement in November.

Jacob said: "I have been extremely impressed with the level of co-operation and professionalism of the Gartmore teams throughout this process which bodes well for the future of the combined group.

"I hope investors will take comfort in the fact that we have reached this stage well in advance of the completion of the acquisition."