Alantra gives vote of confidence to London as it switches investment banking HQ to City
Spanish investment bank Alantra has shifted its investment banking headquarters to a new office overlooking St Paul’s in a boost for the City.
The Madrid-based bank said the new London office, based on 25 Cannon Street, is a “natural next step…given the significance of Canada as a global financial centre”.
The new building will offer access to “institutional capital and top talent from around the world” the firm said.
Alantra, established back in 2001, is a Spanish mid-market investment bank with operations in 22 countries around the world.
Last year nearly three quarters of its €233.8m revenue was generated outside of Spain.
Its new office will bring together part of its international businesses with its UK team. 150 of the 180 people working in the office will be investment bankers.
Alantra’s investment banking boss, Miguel Hernandez, and the co-chair of investment banking, Andy Currie, will both be based there.
In the last five years it has completed 450 deals in London in a range of sectors including tech and healthcare. It holds a 30 per cent stake in investment bank Singer Capital Markets.
Alantra’s decision will be another boost to the City after a recent spike in the number of firms seeking to list on the London stock exchange. Turkish-owned WE Soda, valued at around £8bn, said it was eyeing a listing a couple of weeks ago in the biggest example.
London’s attractiveness to European seems to remain relatively undimmed despite the impact of Brexit. Recent EY figures showed London was fending off challenges from Europe’s major financial cities in attracting foreign investment.
Deutsche Bank recently reaffirmed its commitment to the City as a crucial market for investment banking with its acquisition of Numis.
This came after repeated concerns that the City was losing out to global competitors thanks to a variety of factors, including Brexit and a restrictive regulatory environment.