Insight to UK Corporate Finance

Looking to switch lanes in my career and corporate finance (specifically to UK/London) is something I was not that aware of when going thru undergrad and looks quite interesting. But it appears to be quite different to what is considered corp fin in the US? 


From what I have seen, Corp Fin job descriptions in UK is a mix of ECM / DCM / M&A / ER all in one. Would be keen to hear from people who are currently working (or have worked) in this sector / role. 


Keen to hear if this broad range of responsibilities is a good or bad thing (variety at the expense of less specialization)? Do you end up specializing the more senior you get anyway? Does comp and hours compare with IBD? What are exit opps like? How do you break into this field?


Sorry if I have missed threads discussing this already, please link in comments below. But if not keen to hear from those with experience in this!

 
Most Helpful

CF in the UK is basically M&A. Noticeably less pay than IB, but better hours. Less prestige and weaker exit ops (you won’t be exiting to KKR), but you do have the ability to lateral into IB roles. If you’re doing it at Big 4/other strong boutiques, you’ll also have a huge network of LMM PE firms which you can exit to.

 

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