Rathbone Brothers plc - Introduction

Introduction

159 New Bond Street
London
W1S 2UD
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 20 7399 0000
Fax: +44 20 7399 0011
Web site: http://www.rathbones.com

Public Company
Incorporated: 1742
Employees: 78
Operating Revenues: £109.95 million ($211.82 million) (2004)
Stock Exchanges: London
Ticker Symbol: RAT
NAIC: 523120 Securities Brokerage; 523920 Portfolio Management

While Rathbone Brothers plc (Rathbones) dates its history to a 1742 founding as a Liverpool-based shipping business, the company eventually came to be best known for providing financial services, with a focus on the investment management and unit trust markets. Rathbones operates from offices in London and Liverpool—the latter city is also the site of the group's backoffice operations—as well as six regional offices, including an office in Scotland. Since the late 1990s, the bank has built up a growing offshore presence, with operations in Jersey and Geneva, Switzerland, and in the British Virgin Islands. Rathbones also has grown through a series of acquisitions, as well as through the hiring of individual investment managers and their client portfolios. The United Kingdom remains by far the group's primary market. The United Kingdom also represents nearly 90 percent of the more than £7 billion of total funds under the group's management at the beginning of 2005. Investment management and banking accounts for approximately 80 percent of the group's operations, with trust services providing the remainder. Although the founding Rathbone family remains associated with the company, Rathbones has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since the mid-1980s. Former and current company employees hold about 25 percent of the group's stock. The company is led by Chairman Mark Powell, CEO Roy Morris, and CFO Andy Pomfret.