The financial services sector poses unique challenges for clients particularly given the fast changing regulatory environment. Executing M&A in a dynamic regulatory context requires contemporary hands on experience through actually being involved in the most recent transactions.

Financial Services Expertise

We are sector experts and provide advice across all financial services sub-sectors including asset and wealth management, life and non-life insurance, banks and building societies, speciality finance and capital markets. Our industry expertise is the foundation of our business. We have built deep trusted relationships with all key market participants in financial services. This provides us with senior level access and authoritative insight into industry developments at an early stage.

Sell-side Advisory

We have successfully executed sell-side mandates for some of the leading financial institutions divesting business units, assets or their entire company. We are experts in preparing and positioning businesses for a sale and articulating the transaction rationale to potential acquirers. We have a track record of achieving sector high watermarks on sell-side mandates and are able to leverage our expertise to operate at the heart of any process.

Buy-side Advisory

We have earned a reputation as a trusted adviser to leading institutions on buy-side assignments in relation to public or private acquisitions. We provide robust, analytical and innovative advice to clients on strategically important and transformational transactions. We evaluate potential acquisition targets, initiate discussions, provide industry specific context, recommend financial and structuring alternatives and assist in negotiations.

Merger Advisory

We are well qualified to assist clients on complex merger transactions with complete discretion and no conflicts of interest and have advised on a number of significant mergers where delicate people issues and complicated valuation parameters require intense negotiation.

Advice Regarding Unsolicited Approaches / Activist Shareholders

Our team has extensive experience of advising listed businesses regarding unsolicited approaches and dealing with activist shareholders. Our senior bankers provide expert market insight and work with companies to formulate their equity story so that it can be effectively communicated to investors and accurately reflected in the share price as part of a coherent strategy for dealing with unsolicited interest and / or activist shareholders.

Strategic Advisory

We have carried out a number of strategic reviews for business units, portfolio companies and entire organisations. We provide expert perspectives in relation to potential disposals, organic and inorganic growth opportunities and on-going changes in industry dynamics across the full spectrum of financial services sub-sectors.

Valuation and Fairness Opinions

We are accustomed to providing discreet, expert and thoughtful advice on valuation exercises and fairness opinions. We have provided independent valuations and fairness opinions relating to management incentivisation schemes, management buy-outs, related party transactions, spin-offs and disposals as well as traditional M&A transactions. The increased scrutiny by board members, regulators and other stakeholders involved in transactions makes our independent advice a valuable component for any board deliberation and endorsement process.

Debt and Equity Capital Markets Advice

We regularly provide debt and equity capital markets advice alongside our core M&A advice. We act as an independent adviser and provide objective advice. We are experienced in running dual-track processes, advising on IPOs and structuring M&A transactions that require sophisticated debt and equity capital markets instruments.

Profile

“Our client proposition has at its heart senior bankers deeply involved in leading M&A transactions, working with discretion and enthusiasm. This is facilitated by our pure and simple business model where every client is special. The Fenchurch business is not managed by ratios and productivity per head. Our internal criterion for measuring success is the satisfaction level of our clients and their public and private endorsement of Fenchurch.”

Duncan Buck Vice Chairman

“We offer clients a powerful cocktail of discreet, trusted relationship based advice combined with first class corporate finance execution. This has enabled us to secure repeat business from some of the largest and most sophisticated financial institutions who are heavily solicited by our much larger and better known competitors.”

Graham Marchant Senior Managing Director

“Our sector expertise and connectivity means that our clients benefit from our strategic insights as well as our deep understanding of a rapidly changing regulatory environment. M&A in financial services needs to be highly sensitive to the complex regulatory and capital impact of transactions, which means that our clients need our expert support in debt and equity capital instruments and markets.”

Chris Deville Senior Managing Director

“Our expertise and capabilities are proven and relevant in the UK and internationally. We have initiated and executed numerous cross border transactions which are a testament to our global sector perspectives and diverse team.”

Vincent Bounie Senior Managing Director

Case Study

£12 billion

Advised Standard Life plc on its recommended all-share merger with Aberdeen Asset Management plc.

May 2017 United Kingdom

£1.9 billion

Advised Investec on the demerger of its Asset Management business (rebranding to Ninety One).

Nov 2019 United Kingdom & South Africa

£578 million

Advised LV= on the sale of its remaining 51% stake in LV= General Insurance to Allianz.

May 2019

£1.7 billion

Advised Hastings Group plc on the recommended cash offer from a consortium of Sampo and RMI

Aug 2020 United Kingdom

£185 million

Advised the Co-operative Group on the sale of its insurance underwriting business to Markerstudy and agreement of a 13-year distribution agreement for home and motor insurance.

Jan 2019 United Kingdom