Cantor opens in Edinburgh after hiring Shore team

Investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (CFE) is to open an Edinburgh office after hiring a team from rival Shore Capital.

Gordon Neilly, co-chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald Europe

The US-owned group said the team includes healthcare analysts Brian White and Paul Taylor, who will work closely with the established Cantor Fitzgerald healthcare team in the US.

In addition, CFE has hired two equity salesmen – Richard Sloss and Andrew Keith, who also join from Shore Capital – while its presence in Edinburgh will be bolstered by Adam Forsyth, an analyst in CFE’s alternative energy and resource efficiency team, who moves from its London office.

Gordon Neilly, co-chief executive of CFE, said: “Brian and Paul will lead our efforts in developing a specialist healthcare franchise, in line with our strategy of focusing on core industry sectors where we have deep expertise. They will also benefit from our firm’s strong sector position in the US.

“Richard and Andrew bring long-established relationships with institutions and fund managers and will greatly strengthen our sales platform, particularly north of the Border. We intend to add further resource to our Edinburgh office in due course, taking advantage of the excellent talent pool there.”

White, a graduate of the University of Glasgow, has worked in equity research since 1993. Previous roles include ten years with Deutsche Bank where, until 2009, he was a managing director covering pharma and life sciences. From 2009 he was head of healthcare at Shore Capital.

Taylor had been a healthcare analyst at Shore Capital since 2010. Before that he held a number of commercial roles within the healthcare sector, including head of business development at Scottish Health Innovations, commercial development officer at Charles River Laboratories and NHS projects co-ordinator at Servier Laboratories UK.

Sloss helped establish Shore Capital’s office in Edinburgh in 2008. He began his career with Greig Middleton & Co in 1983 and went on to hold a number of roles in UK and pan-European equity sales, including with Deutsche Bank, Teather & Greenwood and NatWest Securities.

Keith also helped establish Shore Capital’s Edinburgh office. During his 25-year career, he has worked predominantly in equity sales for NatWest Securities, BT Alex Brown International, Deutsche Bank and Teather & Greenwood.

Forsyth joined CFE in February from Arden Partners. He began his research career with Bell Lawrie White & Co in 1993 and has held a variety of roles in connection with energy and utilities coverage, including with Greig Middleton & Co, NatWest Securities, JP Morgan, Platinum Fund Managers and Matrix Corporate Capital.

In 2013, Cantor Fitzgerald bought “certain assets and businesses” of Seymour Pierce after the stockbroker called in the administrators. The 130-year-old firm, which was partly-owned by football financier Keith Harris, had been hit by a slump in deals following the financial crisis.