It was an acquisition intended to boost growth. But financial statements just published at Companies House show that when F&C Asset Management, a UK-listed fund manager, bought boutique funds house Thames River Capital, it was buying a company that was barely, actually, growing.

F&C bought Thames River in 2010 in an attempt to diversify F&C's revenue and expand into higher-margin funds. It paid £54m plus contingent payments that might bring the total acquisition cost to £170m, if all targets are met. The deal was struck in April 2010 and completed that September.