Numis Europe Ltd, a subsidiary venture of the British stockbroker, Numis, that began operations nearly two years ago to cater to European clients post-Brexit, is set to cease operations. This arrives in the wake of the company being purchased by Deutsche Bank. Numis’s base in Dublin was led by Garret Ward and served as the headquarters for the Irish branch of Numis, employing a total of nine staff members as of last fall according to the most recent financial reports. Deutsche Bank bought Numis in October last year for €481 million (£410 million) and rebranded the UK firm as Deutsche Numis.
Officials have commented that this change will be handled responsibly while keeping in view clients’ best interests and regulatory obligations. Additionally, it doesn’t affect Deutsche Bank’s other Dublin enterprises, and their commitment to their larger operations in Ireland remains strong. It is speculated that majority of the staff have been presented with alternatives to be repositioned to either London, Frankfurt or, in some instances, Dublin though no official statement has been given on the subject.
Deutsche Bank has been functional in the Republic since 1991, and currently, more than 200 people are employed in its premises in the capital’s south docklands, Grand Canal Square. This location serves as a hub for the company’s corporate banking enterprise and a creative data centre. The Bank’s workforce in Ireland saw a surge to over 600, counting contractors, in 2021 before they had to cut numerous roles pertaining to a company-wide restructuring blueprint.
The conclusion to close Numis Europe is concurrent with Barclays, a fellow UK banking heavyweight who had designated Dublin as its EU centre post-Brexit, investigating the possibility of relocating its European headquarters to Paris. Barclays Bank Ireland, also known internally as Barclays Europe, was chosen in 2017 as the primary legal entity in the European Economic Area, a little more than half a year after the UK decided to leave the EU.
Numis Europe, in its first operational year ending last September, recorded a loss of €2.68 million, a decrease from the previous year’s deficit of €3.06 million. It garnered €3.41 million in revenues within the year, featuring commissions from equity trades totalling €720,236, research fees amounting to €520,344 and an additional €2.17 million from capital market fees. In terms of UK-listed Irish corporate brokerships, Deutsche Numis has been vying with Davy and Goodbody Stockbrokers from Dublin in recent times. Notably, it has played a role in equity market transactions of a few companies including C&C, Molten Ventures, and Hostelworld. Furthermore, it is presently assisting Cairn Homes in repurchasing some of its own shares in the market.