Offer agreed for £5.4bn Hargreaves Lansdown takeover

A final offer has been accepted to buy one of the West Country's biggest financial firms.

Bristol's Hargreaves Lansdown has reached an agreement on a takeover bid from a consortium of private equity investors, worth £5.4bn.

The consortium is comprised of CVC, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Hargreaves Lansdown employs about 2,400 people, most of whom work in its flagship offices at Bristol's harbourside. The consortium has committed to keeping the main HQ in the city.

The financial firm was founded in 1981 by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown, using a spare bedroom in Mr Hargreaves' house and a couple of borrowed desks.

It now has 1.8 million customers who invest their savings and pensions with the company.

The consortium's leaders have released a joint statement, which said that Hargreaves Lansdown has "an important purpose: to make it easy for people to save and invest for a better future".

"Over the 40 years since it was founded, Hargreaves Lansdown has built a strong, trusted brand, underpinned by high levels of customer loyalty and advocacy," the group said.

Despite these strengths, the consortium said the company now requires substantial investment in an "extensive technology-led transformation", in order to drive the next phase of growth and development.

They added: "The consortium brings extensive experience in supporting businesses undergoing transformation, and its members have long records of investing in regulated financial services companies to build better businesses and create better customer experiences."

The plan moving forward is to invest in technology infrastructure, digital channels and service enhancement, the group added.