| Type | Public (LSE: PMR) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Investment Banking |
| Founded | 1876[1] |
| Founder(s) | Harry Panmure Gordon |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Tim Linacre, CEO |
| Products | Investment banking, Brokerage |
| Revenue | £ 28.4 million (2009)[2] |
| Net income | £ 0.5 million (2009)[2] |
| Total assets | £ 56.46 million (2009)[2] |
| Total equity | £ 56.46 million (2009)[2] |
| Employees | 200 |
| Website | www.panmure.com |
Panmure Gordon & Co. (LSE: PMR) is a British corporate and institutional stockbroker and investment bank. The firm operates in three businesses: investment banking, research and institutional sales and trading. Panmure Gordon has around 90 UK listed corporate clients, over 800 institutional clients, provides research on over 500 companies, makes markets in over 800 stocks and offers broad coverage from FTSE 100 to AIM and US growth stocks.[3]
The firm is headquartered in London at Moorgate in the City of London. Panmure Gordon also has offices in San Francisco, CA, New York City, NY, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Minneapolis, MN, Liverpool, United Kingdom and Nyon, Switzerland.
Employing more than 280 people, Panmure Gordon is led by chief executive, Tim Linacre, who has been with the firm for approaching 20 years.
In November 2011 the company announced a partnership with the New York-based brokerage firm Auerbach Grayson.
The firm was founded in 1876 by Harry Panmure Gordon (1837-September 1, 1902) as Gordon & Co. and was subsequently renamed H. Panmure Gordon & Company. The firm's founder was a well-known member of the financial community in London and in 1892 H. Panmure Gordon wrote the book Land of the Almighty Dollar a critical review of the U.S., particularly New York and Chicago.[4] Panmure Gordon initially specialized in debt offerings for foreign governments. The firm also developed a reputation for conducting offerings for a large number of British and American breweries, including for the San Francisco Brewing Company in 1890.[5]
The company remained a small but influential player, primarily acting as a broker for a number of foreign governments. However, the firm largely avoids the wave of consolidation in the 1960s and 1970s, making only one small acquisition with the purchase of Windsor & Mabey in 1961.
In 1987, the firm was acquired by NationsBank (later part of Bank of America ending more than a century as an independent firm. The firm would be sold again in 1996 to the German bank WestLB, however the firm would languish as the overall bank experienced various issues in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As part of a major restructuring of the bank, Panmure Gordon was sold again in 2004 to Lazard for the nominal amount of $18 million.[6][7][8] In February 2005, Lazard merged Panmure Gordon with a small listed brokerage firm, Durlacher. The combination resulted in Panmure Gordon once again becoming an independent firm with Lazard retaining a 33% stake in the company which was listed on London's AIM.[9]
In 2006, the firm entered into a joint venture with the Bank of Scotland, known as Panmure Capital, that provided financing for companies that are close to an initial public offering on London's AIM.[10] In March 2007 Panmure Gordon acquired ThinkEquity Partners, LLC a US-based investment bank.[11] In 2008, the Group acquired Quaker Securities, a small trading firm, based in Nyon, Switzerland.
By 2007, Lazard had sold its remaining interest in the firm[12] and amidst the Financial crisis of 2007–2009, Panmure Gordon instead raised capital from outside investors. In April 2009, the firm received a £17.3 million cash injection from BlueGem Capital Partners, a private equity firm.[13] In August[14] 2009, QInvest, the largest investment bank in Qatar, became a substantial shareholder in the business.[15][16][17][18]