Panmure looks east to net new broking clients
PANMURE Gordon hopes its ties to the Middle East will help it win new business, as the stockbroker rides the rise in equity market activity.
Chief executive Phillip Wale said he hopes to “strengthen and leverage” the relationship with QInvest, the Qatari investment bank that has been Panmure’s biggest investor since 2009.
“There are companies in the Middle East that may like to list in London or do deals here, and we are the obvious port of call,” he told City A.M.
Wale said he is “very encouraged by the pipeline and what’s in store” for the London market, having acted on three initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first six months of 2013.
The period also marked the first float for Panmure’s new investment funds team, which was hired from Matrix in November 2012.
Panmure posted a 44 per cent rise in corporate finance and other income to £9.5m for the half-year yesterday, while profit from continuing operations sank from £1.2m to £0.3m due to higher costs. Redundancy expenses doubled to £223,000 in the period, though finance boss Philip Tansey said headcount was only “slightly lower” than the 120 recorded at the start of the year.
Costs are set to drop thanks to “management action already undertaken in the business transformation programme,” the firm added.
Wale said Panmure is “flattered to be linked to” takeover rumours and will monitor the market for chances to expand.
“I personally think there will be more consolidation in the industry but there are no talks at the moment,” he said.