Interactive Investor acquired by abrdn for £1.5 billion

MMC first backed Interactive Investor in 2010 and over multiple funding rounds. We’re delighted for Richard and the team as they start this exciting new chapter.

The abrdn transaction represents a key milestone in Interactive Investor’s (ii) evolution and will drive the next phase of growth, building on ii’s position as the UK’s second-largest DIY investment platform, with assets under administration approaching £55bn across over 400,000 customers.

Following the acquisition, ii will operate as a standalone business and independent brand within abrdn and Richard Wilson will continue to lead ii through the next phase of its development, under abrdn’s ownership.

This deal represents a significant exit for MMC and will deliver a huge cash return to our investors at a big multiple.

We first backed Interactive Investor back in 2010 and it’s been quite a journey over those eleven years. Some of the highlights for us include:

Recruiting the brilliant Richard Wilson into the business, first as a NED, then CEO. You can hear more about Richard’s own journey to ii in our podcast from earlier this year.
Bringing in our co-investors J.C. Flowers & Co. and Augmentum Fintech – who have been valuable partners over the years helping navigate multiple acquisitions including T D Direct Investing, Alliance Trust Savings, Share PLC and EQi.

The Interactive Investor story is a demonstration of the risks that need to be taken to create the next generation of unicorns in the UK and the value of having partners to help achieve it. Of course, we are sad to be at the end of our journey with II, but very happy with the outcome – and of course we’ll be staying on as customers!

For more on our journey with Interactive Investor, read Simon Menashy’s post here.