Close Brothers Group

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Close Brothers Group plc
Type Public (LSE: CBG)
Industry Banking
Founded 1878
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Key people Strone Macpherson, Chairman
Preben Prebenson, CEO
Jonathan Howell, Finance Director
Revenue £412.2 million (2012)[1]
Operating income £134.2 million (2012)[1]
Net income £101.4 million (2012)[1]
Employees 2,500 (2011)
Website www.closebrothers.co.uk

Close Brothers Group plc is a British specialist financial services group based in the City of London. The company makes loans, trades securities and provides advice and investment management solutions to a wide range of clients. Close Brothers Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Contents

History

Close Brothers was founded in 1878 by William Brooks Close who initially provided farm mortgages in Iowa and financed Alaska's first railway the White Pass and Yukon Route.[2] It was the subject of a management buy-out in 1978 and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1984.[2]

In the 1980s and 1990s the company began a phase of significant expansion through the acquisition of a large number of specialist businesses which included Winterflood Securities in 1993,[3] Hill Samuel's Corporate Finance Division in 1996[4] and Rea Brothers in 1999.[5]

In March 2008 Close Brothers acquired UK short-term and bridging lender Commercial Acceptances Group for around £31m.[6]

In May 2009 it was announced that the corporate finance business was to be acquired by Daiwa Securities SMBC, a Japanese investment banking venture, leaving Close Brothers focused on lending, securities trading and investment management solutions.[7]

Operations

Close Brothers’ Banking division provides specialist lending to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals across a diverse range of asset classes, and also offers deposit taking services.

The Securities division provides trading services to retail brokers and institutions principally through Winterflood, a leading market-maker in the UK. Its German securities business, Close Brothers Seydler Bank AG, provides marketing making, brokerage and capital market services to listed and non-listed companies.

The Asset Management division provides a full range of advice, investment management and self directed services to private, institutional and corporate clients and professional advisers.

Close Brothers provides financial services to the UK Armed Forces through Forces Financial, providing credit cards and mortgages.

References

  1. ^ a b c Preliminary Results 2012
  2. ^ a b Close Brothers History
  3. ^ Winterflood Securities
  4. ^ Era ends as Hill Samuel loses its deal-makers The Independent, 1 June 1996
  5. ^ The Independent: City People The Independent, 2 August 1999
  6. ^ Close Brothers splashes out on lending businesses
  7. ^ Daiwa buys Close Brothers' corporate finance arm

External links