Working with a US firm on the launch of its private equity and debt finance practice in London
Background:
- We worked closely with a US-headquartered firm on the launch of its private equity and debt finance practices in London.
Strategy:
- Due to the ‘green field’ nature of this opportunity, we focused on attracting a team of partners in order to provide the firm with the bench strength needed for the practice launch. We have extensive experience in team moves and find that these are often among the most successful and accretive hires.
Challenges:
- The firm has a relatively small footprint in London. Many candidates were not familiar with the firm when we first approached them.
- The firm was not a recognized name in the target hiring markets
- Target candidates had to be educated on the strength of the firm’s brand in New York and elsewhere in Europe and of their ability to cross sell opportunities and leverage off client synergies.
Outcome:
- We placed a team of partners covering private equity and debt finance (including leveraged finance) into the firm.
- Our understanding is that the placements have been very successful from both a financial and a ‘fit’ perspective.
- We have since continued to help the firm expand its London offering – we placed a funds partner into the firm earlier this year and continue to work with them at both partner and associate level. We have seen a substantial improvement in the firm’s profile in the London market since we first began cooperating in 2012.
What we received from the firm that contributed to the success:
- The firm had made a strategic decision to invest in these practice areas in London, which was made clear both to us and to candidates by the core hiring team’s responsiveness and commitment to selling the opportunity.