New Capital, a $2.5 billion equity and bond fund boutique owned by private bank EFG, has hired a former Hermes asset manager to head a new UK equity fund biased to small and mid-cap companies.

UK equity specialist John Leahy left Hermes Investment Management late last year following a restructuring at the firm owned by the BT pension scheme. At Hermes he co-led a £210 million UK small and mid-cap fund for 14 years with David Stormont. It formed part of a global smaller company business led by star manager Hamish Galpin.