Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management expect to lose 800 roles – almost 10 per cent of their combined workforce of 9,000 – over a three-year integration period following their proposed merger.
In a statement published last night, Aberdeen and Standard Life say they will look to rationalise and consolidate premises where both organisations already operate from multiple locations in a close geographic proximity.
The new entity will be renamed Standard Life Aberdeen and will operate under branding drawn from both the Aberdeen Group and the Standard Life Group. It is expected that the combined group will be reorganised to bring Aberdeen and Standard’s investment functions together in a single investment that will be given the interim name Aberdeen Standard Life Investments Limited, pending a review of the global brand strategy.
The combined group will be headquartered in Scotland and continue to have offices around the world.
Standard Life chairman Gerry Grimstone will head the board of the new entity, with Standard Life and Aberdeen chief executives Keith Skeoch and Martin Gilbert to become co-chief executives.
In a trading update Standard said it had seen net investment inflows of £3.1bn in Q1 of 2017, excluding its Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) which experienced outflows of £2.8bn. Workplace net inflows stood at £400m.
Standard Life chief executive Keith Skeoch says: “We have made further progress in the first three months of 2017 with inflows from our growth channels, including notable growth in flows in our pensions and savings business. This has been supported by strong investment performance over the short and long-term. We continue to benefit from diversifying our sources of assets, and this strategy will be further enhanced by our proposed merger with Aberdeen. Standard Life remains confident about capitalising on industry trends, to meet the evolving needs of our clients and customers and to create long-term value for Standard Life shareholders.”
