UBS France's new wealth management arm La Maison looks to hire staff

PARIS (Reuters) - UBS France's (UBSG.S) new 4.5 billion euros (£3.99 billion) wealth management division, La Maison de Gestion, is looking at hiring new staff to grow the business, the company said on Tuesday.

The Swiss bank's La Maison de Gestion arm was formed from a deal struck in December last year when UBS France agreed to buy the local private banking business of Italy's Banca Leonardo. The new division was formally launched on Tuesday.

La Maison de Gestion has around 4.5 billion euros worth of assets under management. UBS France will have a 51 percent stake in the company, while previous, existing shareholders in La Maison de Gestion will own the remaining 49 percent.

The deal between UBS France and Banca Leonardo came during a wave of consolidation within the French wealth management industry over the last year, which also saw Rothschild & Co (ROTH.PA) buy French regional private bank Martin Maurel.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Louise Heavens)