River and Mercantile is soon to become part of AssetCo. This morning it was announced that the change of control had been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the recommended all-share acquisition by AssetCo of the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of River and Mercantile Group PLC (RMG) other than the RMG shares already beneficially owned by AssetCo, to be implemented by way of the Scheme. The FCA Condition is therefore satisfied.

The next stage is to proceed with the return of £190m to RMG shareholders by way of a B Share Scheme conversion. The expected timetable for this will be announced in due course.

Alex Hoctor-Duncan, Chief Executive of River and Mercantile Group, commented:

"Now we have secured the green light from the FCA we can look forward to the next stage of our journey as an integrated part of AssetCo, with a strong balance sheet that we will invest in people, technology and making the business a compelling place to work.

"We are going into the second half of 2022 as a streamlined, focused, nimble organisation that can react with speed, isn’t afraid to disrupt the status quo and is ready to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in the market today. We are ambitious to grow and want to retain and attract people who like our purpose, which is about investing to make a difference.”