The UK wealth manager has decided to offload its international platform business.

Rowan Dartington, part of St James’s Place Wealth Management, has agreed to sell Ardan International to RL360° Group.

Ardan International, which was acquired by Rowan Dartington in 2014, provides a platform for advisors globally, offering them research tools, dealing, custody and client administration. It deals with more than 70,000 funds and securities through multiple third-party life and pension wrappers.

As part of the deal, details of which were not disclosed, Rowan Dartington will continue to use Ardan for its international business expansion on an outsourced basis.

RL360° provides offshore investment, savings and tax planning services. It was formed in 2013 to support the management-led buyout of RL360 Insurance Company from the Royal London Group. As at 30 June 2016, the group had $10 billion in assets under administration.

“After Rowan Dartington’s acquisition by St James’s Place last year, it is important for us to be platform independent given SJP’s focus on wealth and discretionary fund management and expansion into the international marketplace,” said Graham Coxell, Rowan Dartington’s executive chairman.

“We therefore decided that a sale would not only benefit Ardan International considerably - by enabling it to continue focusing on the transformation of the advisor market through its platform technology – but would also allow the Rowan Dartington Group to focus on its core competence of managing money on behalf of advisors.”

Ardan International will continue to operate under the Ardan brand and will operate independently of RL360 Life Insurance Company. The acquisition is subject to approval from the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.