PEEL HUNT, Liberum, Stifel: the numbers involved may be small, but ongoing job cuts at the City's mid-market broking firms tell you all you need to know about the near-term outlook for capital markets activity.

It's important to keep this bloodletting in context - in the case of Peel Hunt and

Stifel, only around 25 jobs are being axed between them.

At Panmure Liberum, the latest incarnation of renowned City names, the reduction is greater, but that's a consequence of the merger which has brought it into being.

I understand that a memo circulated internally at both firms last week announced the intention to commence a consultation process that will entail headcount reductions once the FCA formally approves the merger of Panmure Gordon and Liberum.

A source close to the latter says that roughly 20 per cent of the two firms'

combined workforce may go, reflecting overlapping functions and other merger synergies.

This won't be lost on the sector's other mid-sized players, who risk being orphaned in a market where delistings and an ongoing flow of takeovers are shrinking the client pool for everyone.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper