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Investor Relations
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Investor Relations overview
Read our latest results, receive updates on the group’s performance and access shareholder information.
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Charity and community
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Charity and community
We believe that corporate responsibility involves supporting and giving back to the communities in which we operate.
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Media
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Media overview
Stay informed on news and events from Close Brothers.
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Careers
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Careers
Our 3,000 employees are primarily based in the UK and work out of one of our 50+ offices.
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- CONTACT US
A leading UK merchant banking group
Close Brothers is a leading UK merchant banking group providing lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading. A FTSE250 company, we employ over 3,000 people, principally in the UK, and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Our values
We remain committed to our traditional values of service, expertise and relationships alongside teamwork, integrity and prudence, to help the people and business of Britain thrive over the long term.
Our Distinctive Approach
- We focus on our core values which drive strong employee engagement and customer loyalty.
- Each of our businesses is a specialist in its own niche market, driven by a strong customer led proposition and long-term client relationships.
- Across our businesses we have a deep knowledge of the industry sectors and asset classes we serve which allows us to provide firmer lending decisions and faster access to funds when clients need them the most.
- We apply our lending criteria consistently at all stages in the financial cycle which protects the quality and returns of our lending while providing continuity of service for our clients.
- We take a pruent approach to managing our financial resources. We maintain a prudent maturity profile, with diverse sources of funding, and a conservative capital position throughout the cycle.
- Our lending is predominantly secured, with conservative loan to value ratios, small loan sizes and short maturities.
Our model
Close Brothers has an established reputation as a responsible bank with a distinctive, prudent business model and a long-term approach. We focus on providing straightforward products and services in sectors we know and understand, and delivering quality and reliability for our clients.
Through all market conditions, we remain focused on:
- Providing straightforward products and services.
- Maintaining a prudent approach and strong financial position.
- Building lasting relationships.
Our leadership
- Mike BiggsChairman
- Preben PrebensenChief Executive
- Elizabeth LeeGroup Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs
- Mike MorganGroup Finance Director
- Geoffrey HoweSenior Independent Director
- Bridget MacaskillIndependent Non-executive Director
- Lesley JonesIndependent Non-executive Director
- Oliver CorbettIndependent Non-executive Director
- Mike BiggsChairman
- Preben PrebensenChief Executive
- Elizabeth LeeGroup Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs
- Mike MorganGroup Finance Director
- Geoffrey HoweSenior Independent Director
- Bridget MacaskillIndependent Non-executive Director
- Lesley JonesIndependent Non-executive Director
- Oliver CorbettIndependent Non-executive Director
- Preben PrebensenChief Executive
- Elizabeth LeeGroup Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs
- Mike MorganGroup Finance Director
- Philip YarrowWinterflood Chief Executive
- Rebekah EtheringtonGroup Head of Human Resources
- Martin AndrewAsset Management Chief Executive
- Robert SackGroup Chief Risk Officer
- Adrian SainsburyBanking division Managing Director
- Preben PrebensenChief Executive
- Elizabeth LeeGroup Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs
- Mike MorganGroup Finance Director
- Philip YarrowWinterflood Chief Executive
- Rebekah EtheringtonGroup Head of Human Resources
- Martin AndrewAsset Management Chief Executive
- Robert SackGroup Chief Risk Officer
- Adrian SainsburyBanking division Managing Director
Board of Directors
Mike was appointed a director on 14 March 2017 and chairman from 1 May 2017. He is chairman of the Nomination and Governance Committee. He has over 40 years’ experience of the financial services industry. He was previously chairman of Resolution Limited, the FTSE 100 UK life assurance business, and has acted as both chief executive officer and group finance director of Resolution plc. Prior to that he was group finance director of Aviva plc. Mike is also chairman of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.
Preben was appointed to the board as chief executive in April 2009 when he joined Close Brothers. Preben previously spent his career in a number of senior positions at JP Morgan over 23 years, as well as being chief executive of Wellington Underwriting plc from 2004 to 2006, and then chief investment officer and a member of the group executive committee at Catlin Group Limited. Preben is also a non-executive director of The British Land Company PLC.
Elizabeth was appointed a director in August 2012 with responsibility for legal and regulatory affairs. Elizabeth joined Close Brothers as general counsel in September 2009. She was previously with Lehman Brothers and General Electric’s financial services businesses and prior to that she was a partner at the law firm Richards Butler (now Reed Smith).
Mike was appointed to the board as group finance director in November 2018. From 2010 to 2018 Mike was chief financial officer of Close Brothers’ Banking Division, and since 2010 he has been a director of Close Brothers Limited, the group’s banking subsidiary. Mike is a chartered accountant and prior to joining Close Brothers, he held a number of senior roles at Scottish Provident and RBS, most recently as Finance Director of the Wealth Management Division of RBS.
Geoffrey was appointed a director in January 2011 and is senior independent director. Geoffrey is chairman of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc. He was previously chairman of Railtrack plc and of Nationwide Building Society, a non-executive director of Investec plc and of JP Morgan Overseas Investment Trust plc, a director of Robert Fleming Holdings Limited and managing partner of Clifford Chance.
Bridget was appointed a director in November 2013 and is chairman of the Remuneration Committee. Bridget is chairman of First Eagle Holdings LLC and a senior advisor to First Eagle Investment Management LLC, of which she was president and chief executive officer until March 2016. She is also a non-executive director of Jupiter Fund Management plc and Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, and chairman of Cambridge Associates LLC. Bridget was previously a trustee of the TIAA-CREF funds and a non-executive director of Prudential plc, Scottish & Newcastle plc, J Sainsbury plc, Hillsdown Holdings plc and the Federal National Mortgage Association in the US.
Lesley was appointed a director in December 2013 and is chairman of the Risk Committee. Lesley has extensive banking experience, having previously held several line management positions within Citigroup and was group chief credit officer of Royal Bank of Scotland plc from 2008 to 2014. Lesley is also a non-executive director of Northern Bank Limited and N Brown Group plc.
Oliver was appointed a director in June 2014 and is chairman of the Audit Committee. Oliver is chief financial officer of Hyperion Insurance Group Limited and was formerly finance director of LCH, Clearnet Group Limited and of Novae Group plc. He is a chartered accountant and previously worked for KPMG, SG Warburg, Phoenix Securities (later Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette) and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, where he was managing director of investment banking. Oliver was also a non-executive director of Rathbone Brothers plc.
Executive Committee
Preben was appointed to the board as chief executive in April 2009 when he joined Close Brothers. Preben previously spent his career in a number of senior positions at JP Morgan over 23 years, as well as being chief executive of Wellington Underwriting plc from 2004 to 2006, and then chief investment officer and a member of the group executive committee at Catlin Group Limited.
Elizabeth was appointed a director in August 2012 with responsibility for legal and regulatory affairs. Elizabeth joined Close Brothers as general counsel in September 2009. She was previously with Lehman Brothers and General Electric’s financial services businesses and prior to that she was a partner at the law firm Richards Butler (now Reed Smith).
Mike was appointed to the board as group finance director in November 2018. From 2010 to 2018 Mike was chief financial officer of Close Brothers’ Banking Division, and since 2010 he has been a director of Close Brothers Limited, the group’s banking subsidiary. Mike is a chartered accountant and prior to joining Close Brothers, he held a number of senior roles at Scottish Provident and RBS, most recently as Finance Director of the Wealth Management Division of RBS.
Philip qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand, specialising in Financial Services. He joined Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in 1997 and was responsible for business development of electronic trading within the Global Equities Division. He joined Winterflood Securities in 2000 as Head of Electronic Trading and became a Director in 2002. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2015.
Rebekah joined Close Brothers in October 2009 as Group Head of Human Resources having previously been at Royal Bank of Scotland Group as Head of Human Resources for the banking and fixed income capital markets business in the Americas, with global responsibility for the RBS Sempra Commodities Trading companies. Prior to that she worked at West LB, having started her professional career at Ernst and Young.
Martin was appointed Chief Executive of Close Brothers Asset Management division in May 2008 having joined Close Wealth Management in 2005 as head of the Private Client Business. Previously he was with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) where he worked in a range of roles both in the US and UK, including strategy, distribution and marketing, culminating in his appointment to run MLIM's European private client business.
Robert joined Close Brothers in April 2015 as Group Chief Risk Officer coming from Barclays where he had previously been Group Head of Wholesale Risk and Chief Risk Officer for Africa. With a background in credit risk, Robert has also held roles as Chief Credit Officer for Barclays International Division as well as working for Barclays Capital in the Americas and globally for Standard Bank across emerging markets.
Adrian was appointed Banking division Managing Director in November 2016 having joined Close Brothers in 2013 as Chief Executive of the Commercial division. Adrian previously held executive roles at Barclays, RBS and Bank of Ireland and was chief executive of ANZ Bank in Europe. Adrian has also been chairman of the Asset Based Finance Association, the UK and Ireland industry body.
Our history
1878
Founded by William Brooks Close at the age of 25 with his brothers Fred and James as a London-based partnership.
1884
The business moved to Chicago.
1897
Close secured the rights to build a railway from Skagway into the Yukon.
1923
William Brooks Close dies and in his will stipulates that Close Brothers should be wound up and a new company formed to carry on the business under the same name.
1934
Arthur Martens was appointed a director, and subsequently became chairman in 1940.
1946
The Issuing Houses Association is established with Close Brothers as a founder member.
1964
Arthur Martens dies and leaves the bank in the control of his son, Fraser, and Peter Anninos, a former director of Purle Brothers.
1973
London & Western Trust completes its acquisition of the bank but the parent company is then acquired by Consolidated Gold Fields.
1977
Close Brothers Premium Finance launches as the first premium finance business in the UK.
1978
A management buy-out saw the business exit from the Consolidated Gold Fields group.
1984
Close Brothers listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Close Brothers Invoice Finance founded through the acquisition of Century Factors.
1987
Close Brothers Asset Finance set up by four former employees of British Credit Trust.
1991
Close Motor Finance established through the acquisition of Nene Credit.
1993
Winterflood Securities is acquired.
1995
Close Brothers announced its twentieth year of unbroken profit increases.
Close Fund Management started.
1996
Close Brothers acquires the Surrey Asset Finance print business.
1999
The acquisition of Rea Brothers Group plc takes assets under management to £2.5 billion and supports the launch of our high net worth client business.
2003
The purchase of Nelson Money Managers was completed.
2007
Close Brothers launches brewery rentals business.
2008
Commercial Acceptances was acquired.
Amber Credit Premium Finance and Kaupthing, Singer and Freidlander Premium Finance acquired.
2010
Close Brothers acquires Chartwell Group to support its wealth management proposition.
2011
Allenbridge Group’s retail division and Cavanagh are acquired, the latter helping to build out Close Brothers Asset Management’s adviser force to today’s 116.
2016
Loan book grows to over £6 billion, and Close Brothers maintains its unbroken 30 year record of never cutting its dividend.
