Rabobank, one of the Netherlands' biggest banks, is building a UK team to handle mergers and acquisitions work, aiming to grab a bigger share of cross-border deals involving the country.

In its home market, it is one of the busiest for advising on M&A transactions. It has won roles on 15 announced deals involving Dutch companies so far in 2017, more than any of its rivals bar ING. But since an investment banking collaboration with Rothschild ended in 2014, the bank has had no dedicated dealmakers in the City of London.