The executive who presided over a bitter “cruises and cufflinks” row at one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers is preparing to step down.

Sky News has learnt that St James’s Place, the FTSE-100 group which oversees more than £150bn of client assets, has kicked off a search to replace Andrew Croft.

City sources said on Saturday that the company was working with Russell Reynolds Associates, the headhunter, on the search.

Mr Croft has worked for St James’s Place since 1993, and served as its finance chief between 2004 and 2017.

He took over as chief executive in 2018.

A source close to the company said there was “no rush” to find a new CEO, and hinted that a transition to a successor could take more than a year.

St James’s Place caters to affluent clients, with thousands of financial advisers known as partners at the firm managing £153bn in assets.

The company has faced questions about its recent performance, with Mr Croft describing recent quarterly net inflows as a “good” outcome but many analysts taking a different view.

It warned this year that it would miss a key expenses growth target.

In 2019, St James’s Place became embroiled in a row about partners’ pay and perks, with benefits including cruise holidays and jewellery awarded to high-performing partners.

The regime was scrapped following a review aimed at encouraging “the right behaviours” amid concerns that partners were effectively being incentivised to mis-sell to customers.

News of the prospective change in leadership at St James’s Place comes ahead of the introduction of a new consumer duty supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Paul Manduca, the City grandee who chairs St James’s Place and previously led Prudential, will oversee the hunt for Mr Croft’s successor.

The company suffered a revolt this month at its annual meeting when more than 20% of shareholders voted against its remuneration report.

Mr Croft was paid a total package for last year of just over £3m, with some investors irritated that he received long-term awards linked to its depressed share price during the pandemic.

Partners at St James’s Place, which is based in Cirencester, are self-employed.

A St James’s Place spokesman said this weekend: “As part of long-term succession planning, the Board has regular dialogue with search firms to assess and monitor the market.

“This is in line with best practice corporate governance.”

Shares in St James’s Place closed on Friday up 7.5p at 1112.5p, giving the company a market value of £6.1bn.

The stock has slipped 11% during the last 12 months.