‘Breakaway’ stockbroker N+1 Brewin merges with rival Singer

Stockbroker N+1 Brewin, which broke away from wealth manager Brewin Dolphin earlier this year, is to merge with rival Singer Capital Markets.

The firm, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, said the deal with Singer will create a business with an “extremely strong UK client base”, employing more than 110 and offering corporate advisory and equity research services.

The merged entity, to be called N+1 Singer, will be chaired by Santiago Eguidazu. He is co-founder and chairman of N+1, the Spanish financial advisory and asset management group that backed the management buy-out of Brewin Dolphin’s corporate advisory and broking division.

Under that deal, which completed in February, Brewin Dolphin kept a 14 per cent “preferred interest” worth around £4 million in the business, which also has offices in Leeds, London and Newcastle.

Eguidazu said: “Leveraging on N+1’s platform and track record, our clients will get access to a broader advisory services offering, including strong M&A and debt advisory.”

N+1 Brewin acts as broker or adviser to 64 listed companies in the UK and provides research on 135 companies. Chief executive Jamie Cumming, who will become a senior adviser to the merged business, said the company plans to maintain a “strong regional presence” following the deal.

He added: “We will continue to have a robust capital base with an enhanced projected balance sheet of £16m, a 250 per cent surplus to our regulatory capital requirement.”

So far this year, the two firms have raised more than £323m in 14 transactions.

The deal, described as a “merger of equals”, is expected to be completed within two months.

It still needs regulatory approval from the Financial Services Authority, but Cumming said major shareholders on both sides had given their backing.