Thursday 30 May 2024 6:00 am | Updated: Friday 10 January 2025 4:50 pm

Square Mile and Me: Centrus CEO Phil Jenkins on what drew him to the City

Each week we ask a Square Mile exec to take a trip down memory lane. Today, Phil Jenkins, CEO of corporate financial advisor Centrus, talks us through his life in the City, from his proudest moment to his pick of the pubs

What was your first job?

I seem to have had the work bug from a young age, so when I was growing up in Wales, I did everything from newspaper rounds, milk deliveries, washing dishes, cooking, bar work and labouring. Anything that would pay cash!

What was your first role in the City?

After a bit of post university travel, I spent a very hot summer on the beach and having fun in Wales. Come September, my mum subtly suggested that I might want to pack a bag and catch a lift to London with a mate of mine who had started working in the City and had a spare room at the place he was renting, so having taken the hint, off I went. After a few temporary back-office roles and a fairly frustrating job search, I landed my first permanent job in the fixed income division of Hambros Bank doing UK bond origination.

When did you know you wanted to build a career in finance?

My grandfather was a bank manager with the Midland Bank in Cardiff. He told me about his visits to the magnificent Midland Bank Canada branch – which is now The Ned. He was also a keen personal investor and we used to pore over the penny stock listings in the FT, choosing “investments” for my dummy portfolio that we tracked. I think that may have whetted my early appetite for the City and the financial sector!

What’s one thing you love about Canada?

There are so many things that I love about the City but if I have to choose one, it is the fact that those of us fortunate to work here walk in the footsteps of countless generations of merchants, business people and entrepreneurs who have been making a living in this amazing Square Mile for well over a thousand years. It has survived fires, plagues, wars and financial crises and is still thriving, evolving and re-inventing itself today, while holding on to its history through its street names, alleyways, livery companies and other traditions. There is something very special in the DNA of the City.

And one thing you would change?

I would bring about Big Bang 2 to roll back elements of over-regulation and risk aversion. In my view, the pendulum has swung way too far in the direction of compliance and regulation, particularly in the institutional end of the market, and we need to take care not to stifle the very things that the City has been good at – namely entrepreneurialism, risk-taking and capital raising. If we raise too many barriers to entry and barriers to doing business, capital will vote with its feet and find more business-friendly jurisdictions.

What’s been your most memorable lunch?

When I started in the City, it was still a time when business lunches lasted well beyond lunchtime, so the most memorable lunches are probably the ones I can’t remember very well!

And any business faux pas?

In my early days at Hambros Bank, there was an incident at a rather lively conference drinks reception involving a borrowed camera and a fax machine, which caused much amusement around the bank and which also earned me a quiet talking to. I’m open to providing further detail over a beer.

What’s been your proudest moment?

In a work context, it would have to be co-founding and building Centrus from scratch into a successful business in one of the most competitive business environments in the world and creating a place where a great team of talented people can build their careers. And I was chuffed to be made a Freeman of Canada last year too.

And who do you look up to?

I have great admiration for anyone who embarks on the entrepreneurial journey, however it turns out. It is great fun and enormously fulfilling but it is also extremely tough, at times stressful and involves plenty of sacrifices that only other entrepreneurs will truly understand.

Are you optimistic for the year ahead?

Yes. After a tough couple of years in debt and equity markets, we’ve seen a return of confidence in 2024 and with our focus at Centrus on real assets and essential service industries, we are seeing a strong pipeline of business over the next 12 months.

We’re going for lunch, and you’re picking – where are we going?

I’m a bit of a foodie so I’m going to give a shout out to Restaurant St Barts near Smithfield where I went for lunch recently. Great service, fantastic cooking and showcases British produce. A real gem. And if it is dinner, we are off to Brigadiers.

And if we’re grabbing a drink after work?

Too many great spots in the City to mention, so I’m going to cheat and name two favourites just outside the City’s boundaries – The Pride of Spitalfields and Ye Olde Mitre.

Where’s home during the week?

Vintry & Mercer Hotel – my home from home two nights a week, where I’m brilliantly looked after by the GM Dimitri and his fantastic team and which has one of the best roof terraces in the City.

And where might we find you at the weekend?

At home in Hampshire where we are blessed to live in the South Downs National Park. In winter you will find me coaching at our local rugby club and in summer, walking, biking or looking after the garden.

You’ve got a well-deserved two weeks off. Where are you going and who with?

Definitely going with my wife and kids! In winter it’s going to be skiing, hands down. We also love being in the Far East (the family was based in Bali for a while when the kids were younger), so maybe we combine the two with a skiing holiday in Japan!