Panmure Liberum adds two new units and names top team after merger
Panmure Liberum has launched two new divisions and confirmed its executive team after the completion of the landmark merger between two of the City’s leading brokers.
The firm announced on Monday that it would add private capital and debt advisory units in a bid to broaden its offering amid a tough spell for Britain’s corporate brokers.
The debt advisory team is to be led by Dan Howlett, vice chair, head of debt advisory, and Ben Handler, head of business origination.
The Cambridge-based private capital unit, called Panmure Liberum Cambridge Capital, will be headed up by Freddy Crossley and Ed Rayner, with a focus on companies in the healthcare and life sciences sector.
Panmure Liberum also named Dru Danford, who formerly led Liberum’s dealmaking unit, as head of investment banking and Stephen Jones, Panmure’s ex-head of investment banking, as chair of the division within the combined business.
Elsewhere, Simon French was named head of research, Adam Howson as head of execution and Oliver Baxendale head of equity sales.
Panmure Liberum is the product of a merger between mid-sized investment banks Panmure Gordon and Liberum, which agreed to an all-stock tie-up in January to create the largest advisor to London-listed companies.
Ex-Barclays chief Bob Diamond’s Atlas Merchant Capital bought a majority stake in Panmure Gordon in 2018 alongside the Qatari royal family. Diamond hired fellow Barclays veteran Rich Ricci to head up Panmure Gordon in 2020.
The deal to create Panmure Liberum saw Ricci appointed as chief executive of the combined group, with Bidhi Bhoma, Liberum’s then boss, becoming deputy CEO.
The combined firm cut around 20 jobs after the merger completed in May. UK specialist brokers have struggled with a dearth of IPOs and a shrinking number of smaller London-listed companies in recent times, forcing cost reduction efforts and more consolidation in the sector.