HSBC directors launch Amethyst Corporate Finance

Former directors of HSBC Investment Bank, Marcus Shapiro and Andy Margetts, have announced that they are leaving to set up their own outfit, Amethyst Corporate Finance. Shapiro and Margetts joined HSBC when their previous employer CCF Charterhouse was acquired by HSBC in July last year. The merger of Charterhouse’s investment banking operations with those of HSBC involved an increase in the size of deals, something felt by Shapiro and Margetts to be too far removed from their backgrounds and original areas of expertise.

Amethyst Corporate Finance is likely to launch officially towards the end of summer. While not focusing exclusively on the private equity industry, Shapiro and Margetts aim to gain one third of their business from mid-market private equity houses and also to be active in introducing small companies to private equity as a source for the next stage of funding for their business. Deal size is likely to fall within the £10m-£100m bracket, where Amethyst’s directors perceive a gap in the market. They see their likely competitors as being drawn from the ranks of the UK’s top ten accountancy firms, along with other established corporate financiers such as Hawkpoint Partners and Close Brothers; however, they are confident that their sector experience and ability to provide dedicated, personal attention to the business in hand will win contracts. In order to maintain this latter selling point, the two are not looking to expand the business too rapidly post-launch, arguing that many of the big accountancy firms hand over business to junior staff once work gets underway.

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