The surprising thing about today’s merger of Panmure Gordon and Liberum is not that it has happened, but that it took so long.
Ever since Bob Diamond – the former Barclays chief once dubbed the unacceptable face of banking, but really just a deal maker like many others – rocked up at Panmure in 2018 the talk has been of when he would strike.
The arrival of acolyte Rich Ricci – bankers called Diamond and Ricci sound like cartoon character bankers – two years ago heightened expectations.
But other possible deals – with Numis and then Cenkos – went to other places.
Had Diamond lost his touch?
Today’s all-share merger with Liberum suggests he was just bidding his time.
The deal breathes new life into both firms and gives hope to the under-served smaller firms who desperately need what the City has to offer but discover the likes of Goldman Sachs et al find them not worth the bother.
Goldman and co have also been slashing jobs due to a dearth of the big deals on which they thrive.
Panmure Liberum is about growth. It will have 300 staff in the heart of the City and about 250 UK corporate clients.
Those clients suddenly have access to the extensive contacts Diamond and Ricci have built up after all these years.
Moreover, Panmure itself recently turned a profit for the first time in a long time.
Maybe, this deal signals the point at which firms start again listing their shares in London rather than New York, when the Square Mile gets its mojo back.
Diamond and Ricci – two of the three Barclays “musketeers” of which Jerry del Missier was the third – aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.
But they bring heft and serious firepower to a part of the City that seriously needs both.
We should wish them and their new venture well.
