Cantor Fitzgerald, the money broking company, has retained Search Partners, a London-based headhunter, to spearhead the hiring of hundreds of brokers before spinning off its fixed-income voice broking business into a partnership called BGC.

The search firm's appointment caused panic among Cantor's rivals, all of which have been subject to hiring raids by the company in the past. Damien Lee, managing director of Search Partners, is best known for his expertise in interest-rate-swap products, where Cantor's rival Icap has a lead.