Elite Boutiques London / Europe

All, the recent posts about Elite Boutiques in Europe didnt yield any detailed results. So I thought I would give it another try, I was wondering if anyone has some insights on how the EBs rank in London, among themselves and against BBs especially in terms of dealflow and culture. If someone could provide some insights, these would be highly appreciated! Any other information are also welcome :) Thanks in advance!

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Best Response

Rothschild and Lazard are the strongest. Houlihan Rx is well regarded in that specific space as well. Evercore is decent, being strong in FIG and Utilities/Infrastructure.

I would say Moelis/Greenhill/PWP is not as strong as their US counterparts. In general, BB experience trumps that of EB in London offices (except Laz/Rothschild). You might also be able to get a good experience at firms such as RBC/Macquarie/Jefferies/HL M&A etc, which have some presence in London.

 

Totally agree with potatohead123,

Take my comment with a grain of salt because I may be a bit biased because of my personal background and also the fact, that the observations I made can change easily due to market circumstances, seniors switching banks and so on...

Rothschild is probably the EB with the highest dealflow in terms of number of deals, albeit they are less mandated on the really big deals. Lazard follows with fewer, but oftentimes larger deals in Europe. Both offer a similar experience to BB's and I would personally definitely prefer Rothschild over some of the BBs that announced major headcount cuts...you know the names.

The other well known EB's like Evercore, Centerview, PWP, HL, Jefferies and so on get fewer deals in Europe. So a BB MAY provide you with a better learning experience, but I am not too familiar with how lean deal teams are and how the firm's culture is in one of those EB's.

Note: Check out the most recent M&A league tables from dealogic from Jan to Jun '16. They also have a "European Announced Deals" section that could probably help you with this.

Hope this helps!

 
Controversial

I disagree with the prior 2 posters (btw Jefferies is not an EB...)

Note that the EBs have smaller teams in Europe than they do in the US. No good comparing number of deals in Europe to US or of EBs to BBs, focus on deals per banker.

Rothschild is a mid-market advisory firm, which is fine, but you would 100% rather be at Moelis/Evercore/Lazard.

Moelis and Lazard are top for restructuring, Moelis has a historic focus on it in London. HL does not dominate here like it does in the US. PJT gets mandates too.

PWP and Greenhill definitely below the other firms mentioned but Greenhill still gets on some good M&A, it is just on a decline.

Moelis/Evercore/Lazard/CV/Zaoui/RobeyW: on par with (or above) GS/MS/JPM Greenhill/Rothschild/PJT: on par with CS/DB/BAML HL/PWP: on par with Barc/UBS/Citi

All the EBs in London absolutely demolish the likes of RBC and Macquarie.

 

I agree with some parts of your post. Very accurate!

I would just disagree in terms of team size and on your ranking. PWP has around 90 IBD/RX bankers in London, Moelis around 70 (probably more now). Just Evercore is a bit smaller, but in my opinion the weakest of the EBs (but advised on one high profile deal and did a nice fairness opinion on the other).

Lazard lost some very prominent RX guys and I do not really know if their presence in Europe is still stat strong. Especially if you take into account that beside the London office, there is Frankfurt with sound 50 bankers, and all the other offices in continental Europe as well - this is nearly the size of a BB...

The ranking is more or less useless and seems very biased. PWP did some very nice deals in the past and you put them in the same bucket as HL and below Evercore? Moelis presence in M&A is weak in comparison to the RX practice and why would you say Moelis is top for RX but HL is not? You should differentiate between credit and debit advisory.

I have been with a BB and an EB. The difference is not that big, and all comes down to the team you are working in.

In the end, it totally depends on what you want: A fast exit -> go with GS/JPM/MS; a lot responsibility: go with one of the EBs (especially CV, can not commend on Zaoui or RW). You want a bonus of around 100% -> go with Moelis, PWP or GHL. and so on...

 

Thanks for all the replies! As some have mentioned Robey Warshaw, does anyone have some insights on them? I know that they worked on some very high profile deals in the last year, but there website e.g. does not give any information away..

Also, would you say that there are major differences between the above mentioned EBs (GHL, Moelis, Lazard, PWP etc.) in terms of exit opps?

 

its interesting to see how well regarded the boutiques are. i mean in europe, everybody knows Rothschild, Lazard but then I think especially in continential europe, it drops. Evercore, Moelis, Greenhill are good houses but if you are not directly involved in M&A, you barely heard of them. But I think they are growing because some ppl I know just joined them in London but also Frankfurt. Do you guys see/experienced the same? Or what is the impression of the growth and especially hiring of these shops in Europe?

Make Donald Drumpf again
 

I am a student at a non-target university and am thinking about applying for summer internships 2018 in london and frankfurt. I have a pretty good CV (one finance related internship, strong GPA) but coming from a non-target and coming only into my second year of study (penultimate year of my bachelor) I will probably focus on boutiques. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks for the reply. Was only a little worried about applying this year and not getting an internship, because I heard some firms won't take your application a second time? Any thoughts on this? Thanks a lot!

 

For the lack of other answers, I'd post the limited info I have as an analyst at one of the elite boutiques.

To cut it short - on the analyst level they are not going to be really 'chasing' after you, so your best shot is simply to 'network' your way into it. Reach out to your connection working there and see if any groups have spots to be filled. Once you find it out, ask for a referral to the HR.

Alternative route might be, of course, contacting various IB HR houses, as they do tend to get urgent requests as the groups are faced with unfilled positions.

Hope it helps.

 

any particular headhunters in mind?

Looking for a long-term career in banking... so I'm planning a move to the boutiques known for retaining staff

 

The same names that are solid in NYC are also well rated in London. Lazard probably carries the most kudos, followed by GHL, Evercore, Rothschild. Moelis office is a bit iffy at the moment I understand (but I get the feeling this is throughout the organisation, both in London and elsewhere).

William Blair is a bit of a non-entity here. Harris W. same. Thomas Wiesel same. Piper J. and HL have offices also, but again very small operation in London.

So, overall, you won't go wrong with a super boutique in London....

From the ghetto....
 

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