The man to take the place of St James’s founder
CHARLES Gregson (pictured), the chairman of money broker ICAP, is to succeed St James’s Place founder Mike Wilson when he steps down later this year.
City grandee Wilson will relinquish his post as chairman almost 20 years after he founded the fund manager alongside Lord Rothschild and Sir Mark Weinberg.
He will become a “life president” of the firm and take a more central role in St James’s place’s charitable foundation.
Gregson has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, having been responsible for the Garban businesses that merged with Sir Michael Spencer’s Intercapital in 1999 to form ICAP.
He is also chairman of CPP Group, the credit card insurer currently being probed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Gregson’s appointment came as St James’s Place revealed a bumper first-quarter performance. Sales over the first three months of this year leapt 18 per cent to £157m, beating analysts’ expectations.
Funds under management were also up at £28bn.