Financial news

Danford left Shore Capital, the City broker founded by Howard Shore, in August.

He was head of corporate advisory at the firm for the past 12 years, having joined in 2004 from Old Mutual Securities. He will report directly to Liberum’s chief executive, Bidhi Bhoma, who took the top job in 2020 and has been expanding the investment banking unit.

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Crawley will become chair of Liberum’s investment banking board. He joined Liberum in November 2013 as head of corporate broking from Haitong Securities, and has previously worked at Credit Suisse and Oriel Securities.

In a statement, Bhoma said that Danford’s appointment would “further strengthen our investment banking team and take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead”.

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Liberum has 131 corporate clients with an average market capitalisation of £330m. Like many of its broking rivals, including the City’s biggest corporate broker Numis, Liberum has expanded beyond its roots and has been hiring dealmakers to diversify its revenue streams.

It has also been pushing into the US, most recently unveiling a tie-up with Raymond James to distribute its research in the country.

To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email Paul Clarke