March 12 (Reuters) - UK's Liontrust Asset Management said on Tuesday it was not in talks to buy smaller rival Artemis in response to a report about a potential takeover.

Liontrust recently held early-stage discussions with Artemis about a potential tie-up, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the situation. Another source said talks were no longer ongoing, according to the report.

Artemis declined to comment.

Liontrust named two former GAM executives to lead its growth equities and distribution businesses in January after the specialist fund manager reported outflows had more than doubled year-on-year.

The appointments followed a failed bid by Liontrust in August for Switzerland's GAM caused by a lack of shareholder support. (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Anirudh Saligrama; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)