Investment bank expands with new office in Midlands

Phil Adams

Manchester based investment bank GCA Altium has announced that it is opening an office in Birmingham.

The new office will be managed by Jeremy Harrison and Jamie Hope, who were previously partners at Alantra in the Midlands.

The launch of GCA Altium’s Midlands operations – the firm’s fourth office in the UK following London, Manchester and Leeds – supports its strategy of establishing a strong presence in all key UK markets.

Following the recent appointment of Oliver Vaughan, the addition of Jeremy and Jamie further strengthens the UK team’s coverage across technology, consumer, industrials and business services.

The aim is to give GCA Altium access to the Midlands market of entrepreneur-owned businesses, while increasing opportunities for its corporate and private equity clients.

Further investment to grow the team with local talent is anticipated over the next 12 months.

Jamie and Jeremy join GCA Altium with a combined 40 years of corporate finance experience.

Jeremy was UK head of industrials at Alantra and joined Catalyst Corporate Finance (which merged with Alantra in 2017) in 2005, prior to which he worked at PwC. Jamie, who was head of TMT at Alantra, joined Catalyst in 2003, before which he worked at EY.

Jamie recently advised the shareholders of SMH Fleet on their deal with the Birmingham office of LDC; the shareholders of Make it Cheaper (Bionic), the UK’s leading online comparison site, on its investment by ECI Partners; and the shareholders of Altius, a data and AI consultancy, on raising investment from MML Partners.

Jeremy’s recent deals include the sale of infrastructure services provider Lyndon Scaffolding to US based BrandSafway; the MBO of driver education specialist TTC backed by Palatine Private Equity; and advice to Doncasters on the sale of two aerospace fabrication and casting businesses to US-based Arlington Capital Partners.

Jamie Hope and Jeremy Harrison said: “We are very excited to join GCA Altium, a team with whom our values and ethos resonated. We believe the compelling combination of global reach, sector expertise, debt and equity capital market capability will bring a unique advisory offering direct to the Midlands market. With extensive recent investment in the region and a new generation of entrepreneurs choosing Birmingham as their home, we are pleased GCA Altium chose this location for their next UK office.”

Phil Adams, CEO of GCA Altium, added: “We are delighted to welcome Jamie and Jeremy to our group.

“GCA Altium has enjoyed a strong period of growth and recognition in the UK, having won several prominent M&A awards over the last year. The evolution of our business and place in the market is reflected by the fact that we were able to attract bankers of Jamie and Jeremy’s calibre. We have a highly experienced team across the UK and are able to significantly strengthen our coverage in technology and industrials – key sectors for us across the group, including in Asia and the USA.”

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close