Investment Banking

‘Even the apprentice gets equity’: City broker Cenkos eyes growth under new CEO Morse

New boss has overseen a period of expansion and a rebound in the company’s fortunes, with revenues surging by 37% to £18.2m for the half year in 2021, while profits are up by 40% to £2.8m

Julian Morse took over from Jim Durkin following a turbulent period
Julian Morse took over from Jim Durkin following a turbulent period

Nearly three years ago, City broker Cenkos Securities was facing pressure from activist investor Crystal Amber to merge with a rival as Europe’s tough new markets rules, MiFID II, had squeezed the sector.

Cenkos’s profits had tumbled 90% by mid-2018, prompting its chief executive, Anthony Hotson, to step down less than a year into the role. It rehired former boss, Jim Durkin, to steady the ship during a turbulent period. Crystal Amber’s investment adviser, Richard Bernstein, told Financial News in 2019 that Cenkos was “poorly managed” and was urging it to kick-start consolidation in what it believed was an increasingly crowded market for wobbling City brokers. 

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