[London] Best shops in terms of WLB/culture

Currently an M&A analyst at a generalist MM shop in Europe thinking about relocating to London (I heard, and the abundance of listings on the web seems to confirm it, that the demand for juniors is currently pretty high). The thing is my current firm strikes a pretty good balance between interesting projects with a fair amount of responsibility given to analysts and overall culture and work-life balance. I’ve come to realize that that’s something I value way more than, say, an above-average salary or prestigious name on the door, hence I was wondering what are the places/teams in London that offer at least a similar profile? Thanks in advance for any suggestions

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Just spoke to a friend from there and can confirm. Effective a 10am-7pm shop, though preferably you need to stay online to midnight for last minute request. 90% of weekends are free and London overall respects one's holidays.

WFH arrangements are awesome and currently under 0 pressure to return to office compared to American IBs in London. No idea about deal flow though.

 

Whole firm. But absolutely avoid Power, Healthcare, TMT. Worst WLB even within the firm.

ECM, UK IB and M&A execution - better than the 3 above but still sweaty. It's Jefferies.

 

UK Coverage teams tend to have good hours/culture - regular socials + minimal weekend work.

 

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