Deutsche Bank starts cutting jobs at Numis after merger

Deutsche Bank has started cutting jobs at Numis after the German giant acquired the City-based investment bank for £410m last October.

The Deutsche Numis business has put seven roles at risk in recent days, a person familiar with the matter told City A.M. These include three Numis employees and four from Deutsche, they added.

It is understood that the cuts have impacted a number of senior brokers. Deutsche Numis employs around 350 staff.

A source close to Deutsche stressed a “very small number” of jobs were at risk, with the cuts part of a wider strategy to make the group more efficient. They added that the bank remained excited about the prospects for Deutsche Numis.

A spokesperson for Deutsche declined to comment on the job cuts.

Deutsche announced in February that it was planning to cut around 3,500 jobs over the next two years, following rivals like Citi and Barclays that are looking to streamline their operations and reduce costs.

Meanwhile, Britain’s corporate brokers have struggled with a dearth of IPOs and a shrinking number of smaller London-listed companies, forcing cost-cutting and more consolidation in the sector.

Two of the City’s leading brokers, Panmure Gordon and Liberum, announced a landmark merger in January, while Finncap and Cenkos combined last September to create Cavendish.

It is not uncommon for the integration of financial firms to see a reduction in headcount, partly to avoid the duplication of roles. Panmure Liberum cut around 20 jobs after its merger completed in May.

Deutsche paid a 72 per cent premium for Numis in a bid to become a number one player in the UK dealmaking market. The bank climbed to sixth place from tenth in a UK deal fee league table for the first half of 2024 by Dealogic.

The merger has shaken-up the culture for staff at the boutique firm, with Deutsche relocating 15 of its equity sales staff to the Numis office in May, while also moving some Numis analysts to Deutsche’s new London office, several streets away.

It emerged later that month that Deutsche would wind down Numis’ US operations and merge most staff into its office in New York, while the other employees affected would be offered other jobs at Deutsche.

Numis’ Ireland-based EU stockbroking operation was also axed, with staff transferred to Deutsche’s Frankfurt office.

News of layoffs at Deutsche Numis was first reported by Sky News’ Mark Kleinman.