Sky News has learnt that Premier Miton has held detailed discussions in recent weeks about acquiring a chunk of River and Mercantile, which AssetCo bought early last year.

City insiders said the talks had stalled, while a source close to Premier Miton said on Wednesday that they had been terminated this week.

A deal would have raised questions about the future of AssetCo, which has performed miserably over the last year, with its shares having slumped by 40%.

Mr Gilbert, the founder of Aberdeen Asset Management and former Standard Life Aberdeen joint CEO, took control of AssetCo with the objective of consolidating parts of the fund management industry.

Premier Miton has been linked with a number of prospective targets, and it remains possible that it could seek to re-engage with AssetCo about parts of the R&M business, a source said.

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Smaller asset managers are facing growing pressure to consolidate amid poor performance and investor withdrawals.

Liontrust, another London-listed asset manager, is trying to acquire Swiss-based GAM - a deal revealed by Sky News earlier this year - despite opposition from some of its target's shareholders.

Jupiter Fund Management and Abrdn have also been tipped as possible bid targets, while M&G was braced several months ago for an approach from Macquarie which did not materialise.

AssetCo and Premier Miton both declined to comment.