London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Diamond's Panmure in talks about £37m takeover of finnCap

Diamond's Panmure in talks about £37m takeover of finnCap

The former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond's Atlas Merchant Capital and finnCap are discussing an all-cash takeover proposal worth just over 20p-a-share.
The former Barclays chief Bob Diamond's investment vehicle is in talks about a roughly-£37m takeover of finnCap, its rival City broker.

Sky News has learnt that Panmure Gordon, which Mr Diamond's Atlas Merchant Capital has controlled since 2017, has proposed an all-cash deal worth just over 20p-per-share.

The two companies have been locked in discussions for several weeks, and Panmure was on Tuesday handed a deadline of 13 December to announce a firm intention to make an offer for finnCap.

One source said that an earlier proposal which included a separate deferred payment for Energise, a net zero and sustainability consultancy which is 50%-owned by finnCap, had been rejected by leading investors.

Insiders said the prospects of a merger between two of the City's best-known mid-cap investment banks still hung in the balance.

A slowdown in corporate activity has driven a hunt for enhanced cost savings among brokers, with the prospects for corporate activity in 2023 dampened by the economic backdrop.

FinnCap has endured a difficult period, losing Sam Smith, its prominent chief executive and one of relatively few female City bosses, during the summer.

Its shares have more than halved during the last year, and it now has a market value of less than £32m.

Panmure itself also used to be listed on the London stock market until its takeover by Mr Diamond in 2017.

That move came five years after he stepped down as Barclays chief executive days after it was fined for manipulating the Libor interbank rate.

Since then, he has parachuted in Rich Ricci, a former Barclays colleague, as Panmure's CEO.

Its other shareholders include a vehicle backed by the Qatari royal family.

Panmure reported in May that it had turned a profit for the first time since Mr Diamond took control.

Other broking firms are expected to participate in industry consolidation, including WH Ireland, which is under siege from an activist shareholder.

Spokespeople for Atlas Merchant Capital and finnCap both declined to comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×