Numis buoyed by M&A deals as broker's revenue hits all-time high

Broker Numis saw revenues from business deals hit the highest level in the firm’s 15-year history this year, thanks to more M&A and flotation work by its investment bankers.

The broker, which has around 183 business clients, had a busy second half of the year, working for Kier on its acquisition of Mouchel and helping Micro Focus’s £730 million takeover of Attachmate Group.

“It is taking off in the UK and there’s a lot more M&A to come,” chief executive Oliver Hemsley told the Standard. “Companies have greater firepower and boards have greater confidence after the crisis.”

Overall revenues from core activities rose by 5% between September 2014 and the end of last month, with the second half performing better than the first six months.

Between April and September the broker, which has a corporate side and a share trading side, did 15 fundraisings, including five initial public offerings such as the recent listing of On the Beach.

The company has been in the market recruiting new talent, making “further investments” in staff and infrastructure, it added.

“We are always interested in good people,” Hemsley said.