Salonica Group - London based independent boutique investment bank

Salonica Group is a privately-held independent boutique investment bank offering investment and advisory services to government organisations, companies and high net worth individuals. It is headquartered in London.

We spoke to Omar Majid, director at Salonica Group, about the importance of London in growing the bank's international client base.

What does your company do?

“Salonica is a boutique investment advisory firm. We do corporate finance work, fund raising and we do a lot of advisory work to government entities and self regulatory organisations (SROs). We have a lot of clients in emerging markets and on the advisory side we have done a lot of work in West Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan and Turkey.”

“London is extremely important because it is an international hub not just for finance but increasingly also for tech and other industries.”

How long has your company had a presence in London?

“We've been in London since inception which is about 5 years ago. London is extremely important because it is an international hub not just for finance but increasingly also for tech and other industries. It is a great point to meet. One of the reasons that we've been able to have quite a diverse geographical client base is because many of our clients like coming to London throughout the year so it's quite easy from a client management perspective.”

What are some of the major attractions of London?

“You have the University of London which has 17 member institutions under that umbrella in London. You have this real access to highly qualified young people in London. I don't think you have that to the same degree in most other European capitals. I think in London you can pretty much find anyone with any kind of intellectual strength that you want.

Timezone is also very important. For a lot of our clients in the Middle East, for example, just by accident of geography, London is a lot more alluring and more favourable prospect to invest in than New York which is another 7 hours away.”

“I think in London you can pretty much find anyone with any kind of intellectual strength that you want.”

How do you see the future for London and the UK?

“I think London will retain its position as the pre-eminent financial centre post Brexit. It has a lot going for it such as access to a highly educated workforce and it's a very liveable city. The UK is in a good timezone and has amazing travel links globally. You also get access to a lot of intellectual and financial capital in London. The opportunities are fantastic.”