Standard Life Aberdeen mulling £30m swoop for Grant Thornton's IFA business

Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) is in talks over an acquisition of Grant Thornton's wealth advisory business for around £30m, according to a report from Sky News.

Standard Life previously expanded its financial advice services through a number of acquisitions before its merger with Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017, snapping up financial advisory firms that included London-based Baigrie Davies, Jones Sheridan in Crewe and The Munro Partnership in Scotland.

If it goes ahead, the deal would reportedly add a further 100 employees to the FTSE 100-listed company's 1825 financial advice arm, including a handful of partners and roughly 30 individual financial advisers (IFAs).

The report quoted a city source as asserting that Grant Thornton's management had decided to explore a sale of the IFA business in order to streamline its focus and avoid the increased scrutiny being directed at the UK audit profession is under unprecedented scrutiny.

Indeed, the company's chief executive David Dunckley faced criticism in February for telling MPs investigating holes in the accounts of Grant Thornton client Patisserie Valerie that "we're not looking for fraud".

Standard Life Aberdeen's shares were up 0.26% at 274.20p at 1000 BST.