City investment bank Numis has bolstered its coverage of financial institutions with two senior dealmaker hires.

It has hired Daniel Werchola as co-head of its financial institutions group. He joins from SME lending platform White Oak where he was head of strategy and M&A, but has also worked at banks including Rothschild and RBC Capital Markets.

Werchola will co-head the unit alongside Stephen Westgate. Numis has also taken on Gregoire Pennec as a director covering the fintech sector. He will work in its growth capital solutions division, which focuses on fundraising for early stage companies, and joins from Barclays.

READ Numis eyes dealmaker hires as larger rivals cut back

Numis executives said they will continue to hire dealmakers even as larger rivals cut back amid a slump in dealmaking.

“There have been headlines about our competitors, large and small, reducing headcount. We think that through the cycle that’s allowed us historically to accelerate some of our growth plans. So we won’t be afraid of taking advantage of those opportunities,” Alex Ham, co-chief executive of Numis, told Financial News.

Numis has been shifting its business away from a reliance on UK equity capital markets, as IPOs in the country have slumped to a 10-year low in 2022. It revealed a 33% drop in revenue to £144.2m for the year to 30 September, with profits tumbling by 72%, which it said was down to investments in the business.

Despite increasing employee numbers by 11% last year, staff costs declined by 24% to £74.9m as it cut back bonus payments.

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