Hi all,
Haven't seen too much on the forum when it comes to non-elite boutiques in London.
What are your experiences with these companies? Have you worked with or interned at one of these companies? What are they known for?
I am curious to know what the lifestyle / nature of the work is like.
Liontree
DC Advisory
Ondra Partners
Alantra
Etc...
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Arma is strong in TMT, Liontree hires mainly experienced people, HL is strong, Ondra is pretty strong but doesn't carry as heavy of a name and the others I don't know enough to comment
What are your thoughts on Ondra's retainer model?
What is it?
I think it can be a good mode but they tend to have a secondary role on transactions due to the long-term commitment they require i.e they often given a 'second opinion'. It can be a long-term strategy but I think that people don't buy all services from the same shop so it could limit their ability to get a higher volume of transactions.
Largely agree with this.
In a way it could even be seen as an outsourced in-house M&A team.
ARMA has a good reputation but is a sweatshop from what I have heard
arma, liontree and ondra are the only boutiques on that list
Arma has very strong deal flow and is the reference for TMT in Europe
Had a few friends working there over the years. Dealflow is good, but you will be working 24/7. Turnover is very high as a result.
William Blair, Gleacher Shacklock, Baird, FT Partners, Zaoui and D'Angelin are other excellent names
Zaoui is better than an EB imo same with Robey Warshaw. How is Gleacher Shacklock seen in general? WB/Baird/FT Partners+Lincoln Int are definitely not boutiques, they are MMs weaker than Jefferies
Zaoui better than an EB? Maybe 3 years ago. And you cannot consider RW and Zaoui on the same level, RW is much much much better
I don't know what's your definition for boutique, but I consider WB, baird etc MM boutique banks ("A boutique investment bank is a non-full service investment bank"). Within the boutique spectrum you can have middle market firms, regional boutiques and EBs
Zaoui has just an inconsistent dealflow but will work on impressive deals every 2/3years.
As per boutiques I thought we were talking about regional boutiques.
anyone know when these boutiques will be hiring for their SA ? are the applications open
Bump
Think Arma and LionTree are probably the strongest from that list
Alantra, DC advisory are definitely at notch below
Any new firms on the list?
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