 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| LSE: CBG | |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1878; 147 years ago (1878) |
| Founder | William Brooks Close |
| Headquarters | London,EC2 United Kingdom |
Key people |
|
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  £944.2 million (2024)[1] |
| £142.0 million (2024)[1] | |
| £100.4 million (2024)[1] | |
Number of employees | 3,700 (2024)[2] |
| Website | www |
Close Brothers Group plc is a UK merchant banking group which provides lending, takes deposits, manages wealth and trades insecurities. It is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange and is a constituent of theFTSE 250 Index.
Close Brothers was founded in 1878 byWilliam Brooks Close and his brothers Fred and James Close, who started offering farm mortgages inSioux City, Iowa.[3][4] In 1897, William Brooks Close paid £10,000 to the US government for the right to buildAlaska's firstrailway theWhite Pass and Yukon Route.[5]
The company was the subject of amanagement buy-out in 1978 and was first listed on theLondon Stock Exchange in 1984.[6] In the 1980s and 1990s, the company expanded through the acquisition of a specialist businesses including Winterflood Securities in 1993,[6]Hill Samuel's Corporate Finance Division in 1996[7] and Rea Brothers (established 1919) in 1999.[8]
In March 2008, Close Brothers acquired UK short-term and bridging lender Commercial Acceptances Group for around £31m.[9] In December 2008, it was confirmed that Close Brothers Private Equity would be spun off as CBPE,[10] and, in May 2009, it was announced that the corporate finance business was to be acquired byDaiwa SecuritiesSMBC, a Japanese investment banking venture, leaving Close Brothers focused on capital markets, securities trading, lending and investment management.[11] The corporate finance business would be renamed toDC Advisory.[12]
Close Brothers disposed of Close Brothers Seydler Bank AG, its securities business in Germany, toOddo & Cie in 2014,[13] and sold Close Brothers Retail Finance toKlarna, the Swedish online financial service provider, in September 2018.[14][15]
In July 2021, Close Brothers acquired PMN Financial Management for an undisclosed amount. TheSurrey basedindependent financial advice firm brought £300m of assets with it.[16][17] In September 2023, Close Brothers acquired Bluestone Motor Finance, an Irish provider of motor finance,[18][19] and, in December 2023, Close Brothers agreed to acquire Bottriell Adams, anindependent financial advisor (IFA) based inDorset, England, for £220 million.[20][21]
Close Brothers Banking division lends to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals and offers deposit taking.[22]
Winterflood, amarket maker in the UK, trades in relevantMTFs and majordark pools and covers nearly allLSE listed stocks, as well as Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and ICAP Securities and Derivatives Exchange.[23]
The company's chief executive is Adrian Sainsbury, who has been in the role since September 2020. The company faced criticism over the size of his pay increase in November 2021.[24] Its board has been chaired by Mike Biggs since May 2017.[25]
In 2024 a court ruled against Close andFirstRand Bank for mis-selling loans to car buyers. They had been paying commission to car dealers for recommending their loans, without the dealers revealing the commissions to the car buyers.[26] In 2025 Close cancelled its dividend and planned to raise £400 million to cover the compensation that would be due to borrowers and the costs of the court case.[27]
