Northern Trust has hired a dedicated head of transition management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as it eyes a slice of the business up for grabs amid the UK’s move to consolidate town hall pension funds, which collectively manage £214 billion.

The global custodian and investment giant, which has $946 billion in assets under management, confirmed in a statement on January 9 that the former head of Emea transition management for Nomura International, Craig Blackbourn, had joined as regional head, based in London.