News and Press
| Date: | 8th June 2005 |
| Title: | Middleton to become Senior Adviser at Fenchurch |
| Author: | Lina Saigol |
| Download: | pdf version |
Middleton to become Senior Adviser at Fenchurch
Sir Peter Middleton, former chairman of Barclays Bank, will announce
today that he has joined the board of Fenchurch
Advisory Partners, the independent advisory firm, as a
senior adviser.
Sir Peter's move highlights the increasing value of boutique banks, which
can provide clients with advice without the pressure of selling other
investment banking products.
The "full-service" banks, which developed an almost limitless
range of products to capture business during the 1990s, have come under
attack from regulators who accused them of being riddled with conflicts
of interest, creating opportunities for smaller firms.
"Fenchurch has demonstrated
that there is a clear role and appetite for independent and uncluttered
investment banking advice," Sir Peter said.
Malik Karim, managing director of Fenchurch, echoed his view. "The large investment banks are contaminated by inherent structural conflicts and are under constant pressure to sell clients a series of products that can devalue the quality of pure M&A advice."
Unlike some rival boutique firms, such as Lexicon and Hawkpoint Partners, Fenchurch is happy to work alongside larger banks on deals. It is also purely focused on financial institutions, whereas firms such as Lexicon have diversified into utilities and private finance initiative work.
Since it was created at the end of 2003, just as the market for mergers and acquisitions was picking up, Fenchurch has advised on a number of middle-sized financial institution deals.