Albason has about €405m of assets under management and is owned by Denmark’s Formuepleje, one of the country’s largest independent asset managers. Impax has £39.1bn (€45.5bn) of assets under management.

A fixed-income manager, Albason’s customers include European institutional investors and Danish high net-worth individuals. The price Impax is paying was not disclosed.

Following completion of the acquisition by Impax Asset Management Ireland, Albason’s portfolio managers will become part of the wider Impax fixed-income team. The existing Impax fixed income team, which is based in America, currently runs US investment-grade and US high-yield fixed income funds that are distributed to investors in North America.

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Following the acquisition, the combined global team will have pro-forma fixed-income assets under management and advice of approximately €1.8bn, as of December 2023.

Impax Ireland, acting through a newly established Danish branch, will become the management company, investment manager and distributor of the former Albason funds.

Ian Simm, the founder and chief executive of Impax, said the acquisition marks an “important step” in the evolution of the group’s fixed-income offering.

“The addition of this highly experienced team of credit managers, with a successful track record, will complement our existing fixed income capabilities, particularly in high yield,” he said.

Impax’s Irish arm is headed by Adrian Missen. He was appointed to the role in 2021 and previously worked for firms including BCP Asset Management and Kleinwort Benson.

Mr Simm said that Impax’s assets under management rose in the first quarter of its financial year, to the end of December.

“”This quarter, after more than 12 months of market headwinds, the investment performance of our principal strategies has strengthened significantly, underpinning a 4.6pc jump in assets under management,” he said. “Although asset allocation decisions at some of our wholesale clients have led to net outflows this quarter, we’ve retained all our material client accounts and added some significant new ones, particularly in Europe”

Mr Simm said that Impax has a pipeline of potential new business and sees “encouraging signs” that the transition to a more sustainable economy is accelerating in many areas.

Of Imax’s assets under management, £37.2bn are listed equities, £612m in private markets and £1.2bn in fixed income.