Panmure Gordon and Liberum agree tie-up to be led by Rich Ricci
The two firms claim the deal will create the City’s largest independent investment bank.
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Your support makes all the difference.Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond’s City broker Panmure Gordon has agreed to merge with rival Liberum, with fellow former Barclays executive Rich Ricci hired to head up the new firm.
The privately owned firms claim the deal will create the City’s largest independent investment bank, boasting more than 250 retained corporate clients.
The newly named Panmure Liberum will be led by Mr Ricci as chief executive and Liberum founder Shane Le Prevost as non-executive chairman.
Mr Ricci is currently chief executive of Panmure Gordon, having been hired by Mr Diamond in March 2020.
This merger will lift the level and quality of service to mid and small-cap businesses and investors in the UK and beyond
He was previously Mr Diamond’s lieutenant at Barclays, where he had a 19-year tenure, including as co-chief executive of the lender’s investment banking arm.
Mr Diamond – formerly chief executive of Barclays – owns Panmure Gordon after his Atlas Merchant Capital vehicle acquired the group in 2018.
His Atlas group provided the financial backing for the merger with Liberum.
Mr Diamond said: “This merger will lift the level and quality of service to mid and small-cap businesses and investors in the UK and beyond.
“These businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy and require flexible and tailored solutions to enhance their productivity.
“This is a very powerful combination and I am excited by the prospect of Panmure Liberum raising the bar in the UK middle market.”
Mr Ricci said: “In Panmure Liberum, we are combining two highly complementary and culturally aligned businesses and creating a new force in UK investment banking with an exciting long-term future.
“We have long admired the impressive track record that Liberum has built in its 16-year history and we now look forward to building on that momentum together.”
It comes amid a wave of consolidation in the stockbroking sector following a dearth of City deals in recent years and the need to make savings in the face of slowing corporate activity.
Stockbrokers FinnCap and Cenkos merged last year to create a group with combined revenues of more than £50 million.
Panmure Gordon had looked to take over FinnCap, but talks broke down late in 2022.
Mr Diamond and close ally Mr Ricci, along with Jerry del Missier, were known as the “three musketeers” during their time building up Barclays’ investment bank and briefly heading up the lender in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
But Mr Diamond’s tenure at Barclays was marred after he was dubbed the “unacceptable face of banking” by then-business secretary Lord Mandelson in 2010 amid concern over mammoth bonus payouts.