City brokers Panmure Gordon and Liberum to merge

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City stockbrokers Panmure Gordon and Liberum have agreed to merge as a depth of listings and deals forces the industry to consolidate.

The companies said on Tuesday that combining would create a business with more than 250 clients, providing everything from advice on acquisitions to equity research.

Rich Ricci, chief executive of Panmure Gordon, will lead the new business while Liberum founder Shane Le Prevost will be in his chair.

Since 2018, Panmure Gordon has been owned by former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond’s investment group, Atlas Merchant Capital. Liberum is owned by its employees.

“This merger will lift the level and quality of service to mid and small-cap
businesses and investors in the UK and beyond,” Diamond said in a statement.

Brokers relying on London’s midsized companies have faced a challenging backdrop as the market has been hit particularly hard by the global drop in initial public offerings and dealmaking.

The grim market conditions have already prompted several deals, including the merger of UK small-cap brokers Cenkos and FinnCap in March last year.

Panmure previously held merger talks with FinnCap before the negotiations collapsed in November 2022. It also acquired small-cap broker Whitman Howard in 2020.

Liberum and Panmure each have approximately 150 employees with teams across investment banking, research, sales and execution.