Gartmore Said to Plan to Cut 10 Percent of U.K. Workforce to Reduce Costs

Gartmore Group Ltd., the U.K. fund manager that put itself up for sale last month, will cut more than 10 percent of its U.K. workforce to help lower costs, a personal with knowledge of the decision said.

The fund manager will eliminate 35 out of its 318 U.K. employees, said the person, who declined to be named because the information hasn’t yet been made public. The job cuts will focus on support roles, the person said.

Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Meyer last month said he would either merge Gartmore with another firm or seek a buyer after five fund managers including Roger Guy and Guillaume Rambourg quit. Henderson Group Plc, Gartmore’s second-largest shareholder, is a possible buyer, while Threadneedle Asset Management Ltd. and Newton Investment Management Ltd. may be potential merger partners, according to Sarah Ing, an analyst at Singer Capital Markets Ltd. in London.

Gartmore said on Nov. 8 it plans to cut costs by 10 million pounds a year. The stock dropped 0.95 pence, or 1 percent, to 96.95 pence at 10:27 a.m. in London.

The job cuts were reported earlier in What Investment magazine.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Crowley in London at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net