Boutique investment banks are expanding in Europe after a bumper period for M&A, even as deal activity has lagged the US. The so-called elite boutiques are eyeing fresh growth in London and other European locations as many unveiled record revenue, fuelled by mega-deals in the US.
“A big part of our experience in Europe right now is that we’ve been in a real build mode and we’ve added substantial people and assets throughout Europe”, said John Weinberg, chief executive of Evercore on a call with analysts discussing results.
“We feel like we’ve really been able to build a much more diverse and deep business. So we’re seeing a lot of activity”.
Evercore’s £146 million acquisition of UK-focused advisory firm Robey Warshaw last month was a signal of its increased ambitions in Europe. Robey Warshaw has been involved with a number of big-ticket deals involving UK Plc and adds significant firepower to Evercore despite its small size of around 13 bankers.
Meanwhile, Moelis has moved into new, bigger London headquarters in Marylebone, which will allow it to house more dealmakers. The boutique hired Matthew Rosedale from Jefferies for its European financial sponsors team, and the bank has another dealmaker recruit in the pipeline focused on chemicals, it said.
Chief executive of Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, said the bank was “super committed to our build in Europe”, despite the region lagging the US.
“It is a critically important part of the world. If you’re going to have a world-class investment bank on a global basis, you have to be strong in Europe and we’re committed to that region”, he said. “But the pace of the M&A market, the dynamism of the M&A market is still not what we’re seeing in the United States”.
Perella Weinberg Partners acquired UK boutique Gleacher Shacklock in April, which will add 30 dealmakers to its ranks.
Moelis’s $319.8 million in first quarter revenue was a record for the boutique and up 4 per cent compared with a year earlier, while Evercore’s advisory revenue jumped 123 per cent to $1.2 billion in the first three months of the year. PJT Partners brought in $418.2 million for the period, an increase of 29 per cent.
The boom period for boutiques has largely come from megadeals in the US, with these firms typically securing roles alongside bigger rivals. M&A activity has jumped to $1.8 trillion globally in the first few months of 2026, with the US accounting for $885 billion. Relatively speaking, European activity is growing faster, with an 88 per cent gain to $505.8 billion so far this year.
Chief executive of PJT Partners, Paul Taubman, said the market for talent was becoming increasingly competitive, but cited some European locations as growth areas.
“We’ve made a commitment to Italy. We’ve made a commitment to Nordic region”, he said. “Those are, to some extent, greenfield operations. But I think they’ll scale faster than other markets would have because we’ve built a strong reputation for ourselves”.
Meanwhile, on another issue — new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has been warned that breaking up the government department behind Britain’s AI strategy could unsettle global investors and damage the country’s standing as a technology hub.
Burnham has been considering abolishing the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and splitting its responsibilities between the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The plans have not been confirmed. Downing Street, the Cabinet Office and DSIT all declined to comment. The prospect of an overhaul of the department has triggered a response from the tech sector, which has argued that Britain’s priority should be maintaining momentum in one of its fastest-growing industries.
In a joint letter to Burnham, techUK and the Startup Coalition described abolishing DSIT as “the wrong change at the wrong time".
ANDY JALIL
The writer is our foreign correspondent based in the UK.
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