Kleinwort Benson
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in London. They merged in 1961 to create Kleinwort Benson Lonsdale, later Kleinwort Benson. Following its acquisition by
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...
in June 2016, it was merged with
SG Hambros Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years. The Bank ...
, already a subsidiary of Société Générale, to form
Kleinwort Hambros Kleinwort Hambros is a private bank owned by Société Générale that offers financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Kleinwort Hambros focuses on private banking, providing a range of services for high ...
in November 2016.


History


Kleinworts

The earliest known Kleinwort to go into banking was 24-year-old Heinrich Kleinwort, a grandfather of Sir Alexander Drake Kleinwort, 1st Baronet. In 1786, Heinrich set up a partnership with Otto Mueller in Holstein to finance trade with England. Kleinworts established a successful trading business in Cuba, profiting from the expansion of the
H. Upmann H. Upmann is a Cuban brand of premium cigars established by banker Hermann Dietrich Upmann (who also founded the H. Upmann & Co. bank on the island). The brand is currently owned by a British corporation, Imperial Brands. The cigars are manuf ...
and Sons cigar business. Edward Cohen and James Drake joined the firm in the 1830s and for a while it was known as Drake, Kleinwort and Cohen; it was then renamed Kleinwort, Sons and Company in the 1880s. The firm helped finance
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
's coup d'état in Spain by approving a credit of 800,000 pounds at 4% interest on 15 September 1937. A month later Kleinworts agreed another loan of 1,500,000 pounds sterling at 3%.


Robert Benson & Co.

In 1786, Robert Benson, a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, joined with
William Rathbone IV William Rathbone IV (10 June 1757 – 11 February 1809) was an English ship-owner and merchant involved in the organisation of American trade with Liverpool, England. He was a political radical, supporting the abolition of the slave trade and unive ...
of the existing house of William Rathbone & Co. to form Rathbone & Benson, a Liverpool business trading mainly with America. Over the course of the 19th century, the Benson family, under the control of
Robin Benson Robert Henry "Robin" Benson (24 September 1850 – 7 April 1929) was an English merchant banker and art collector. As an amateur footballer, he was a member of the Oxford University football team which won the FA Cup in 1874. Family and educa ...
, grew its wealth through railway finance in Britain, Europe and America. For example it became part of a syndicate that marketed shares in the
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
in 1852. In 1947 Robert Benson and Co. merged with Lonsdale Investment Trust (founded by Leo Lonsdale) to form Robert Benson, Lonsdale and Co. The Benson family interest in the group was watered down but operational control of bank remained with its Chairman, Rex Benson.Jehanne Wake
"Benson, Sir Reginald Lindsay [Rex] (1889–1968)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, September 2004). Retrieved 8 January 2018.


Kleinwort Benson

Kleinworts and Robert Benson, Lonsdale and Co. merged to form Kleinwort Benson Lonsdale in 1961. The merged firm acquired the bullion dealer Sharps Pixley in 1966 thereby securing a seat on the London gold price fixing committee that met twice daily in the offices of
N M Rothschild & Sons Rothschild & Co is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business o ...
. Kleinwort Benson worked on several major mergers and acquisitions at this time including the merger of
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
with
Schweppes Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...
in 1969. The firm decided to enter the securities market buying Charlesworth and Co., a stock jobber, in October 1984 and
Grieveson Grant Grieveson Grant was a prominent stockbroking firm on the London Stock Exchange. History The firm was originally founded in 1869. In 1899 the firm had its offices at 61 Old Broad Street in the City of London. In the early 1970s, the firm was the la ...
, a leading stockbroker, in April 1986. In the 1980s, Kleinwort Benson was a pioneer in
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
. It managed the reprivatisation of
British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
, the first of the British Government's programme of disposals in 1981. It also managed the flotation of Cable & Wireless in the same year. It next advised on the privatisation of
Associated British Ports Associated British Ports owns and operates 21 ports in the United Kingdom, managing around 25 per cent of the UK's sea-borne trade. The company's activities cover transport, haulage and terminal operations, ship's agency, dredging and marine cons ...
in 1983. It went on to advise the British Government on the sale of 50.2% of
British Telecom BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...
, the largest ever share issue at the time, in 1984. It assisted with the privatization of
Enterprise Oil Enterprise Oil was a major UK independent exploration and production company based in Europe, with core areas of activity in the United Kingdom and Ireland, mainland Europe, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico. The Company was once a constituent of the ...
in the same year. Important private sector transactions at that time included the takeover of
Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
by the Fayed brothers in 1984. The firm also worked on overseas privatisations advising the Italian government on the
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
of
Enel Enel S.p.A. is an Italian Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica (National Electricity Board), was first established ...
in 1993. In the United Kingdom it advised on
Carlton Communications Carlton was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton shareholders gained ap ...
' £723 million takeover of Central Television in the same year.


Dresdner Kleinwort

In 1995, Kleinwort Benson was acquired by
Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...
and, as Dresdner Kleinwort, became its investment banking arm. It added global reach through the acquisition of the US investment bank
Wasserstein Perella Wasserstein Perella & Co., sometimes referred to as "Wasserella", was a boutique investment bank established by Bruce Wasserstein, Joseph R. Perella, Bill Lambert, and Charles Ward in 1988, former bankers at First Boston Corp., until its eventu ...
in 2001 (from
Bruce Wasserstein Bruce Jay Wasserstein (December 25, 1947 – October 14, 2009) was an American investment banker, businessman, and writer. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and spe ...
). The
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
branch of the bank was instrumental in initiating trading in emissions credits in 2003. In 2004, the Russian government hired Dresdner Kleinwort to value
Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (russian: ОАО Нефтяна́я Компа́ния Ю́КОС, links=no, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovs ...
's
Yuganskneftegaz Yuganskneftegaz (russian: Юганскнефтегаз) is a wholly integrated subsidiary of Rosneft that owns and operates the second largest oil production complex in Russia. It was formerly the most important production subsidiary of Yukos, bu ...
which was later sold to Russian state oil major
Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian Vertical integration, integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, Extraction of petroleum, extraction, production, refining, Petroleum t ...
. In January 2006, the bank became the target of a US$1.4 billion class action suit by six employees alleging bias and systematic discrimination against female workers. In December 2008
Commerzbank Commerzbank AG () is a major German bank operating as a universal bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. In the 2019 financial year, the bank was the second largest in Germany by the total value of its balance sheet. Founded in 1870 in Hambur ...
, which was in the process of acquiring
Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...
, decided to close Dresdner Kleinwort's Mergers & Acquisitions Unit. Then in March 2009 it became clear that the office in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
would close. It also became clear that the capital markets and equities units would close and that advisory work would only be undertaken for Commerzbank's
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
clients. In February 2009 the Commerzbank management announced that no bonuses would be paid across the Commerzbank group including Dresdner Kleinwort. This was clarified to mean that Front Office staff would receive 10% of the bonus promised in December 2008 but support functions would receive their full bonus. This, together with issues regarding severance payments and guaranteed bonus payments, led to a number of lawsuits. Jens-Peter Neumann, former head of Capital Markets sued in Germany in April 2009 for €1.5 million in severance pay. Former senior managers Martin Newson, Eduardo Listorti and Michael Adams sued but settled out of court. Other executives (Areski Iberrakene, Efstratios Hatzistefanis, Kaveh Taleghani and Stefan Guetter) won their bonus suits against the bank in August 2009.Commerzbank sued for $49m over banker bonuses
Bloomberg, 9 September 2009
Additional cases were brought by Dresdner Kleinwort executive committee members John McIntyre, Bertrand Pinel and Alberto Piedra in August 2009 seeking €11 million. In September 2009, 72 former and current Dresdner Kleinwort front office employees sued for £30 million in disputed bonus payments.


BHF Kleinwort Benson Group

In September 2009 Commerzbank decided to abandon use of the Dresdner Kleinwort name and, in October 2009, sold the firm, by then renamed Kleinwort Benson, to RHJ International. In July 2011, RHJ International announced that its subsidiary, Kleinwort Benson, was in exclusive negotiations with Deutsche Bank regarding a potential acquisition of
BHF Bank ODDO BHF is an independent Franco-German financial services group. It was created from the alliance of a French family-owned business built up by five generations of stockbrokers and a German bank specialising in Mittelstand companies. With ...
, one of Germany's strongest banking brands, with operations in private banking, asset management, financial markets and corporate banking. In September 2012, it announced that it had reached agreement with Deutsche Bank for Kleinwort Benson to acquire BHF Bank for €384 million. In November 2011 Saffron Tax Partners announced the acquisition of the private client tax compliance business from Kleinwort Benson. In December 2012 London-based independent advice firm SK Financial bought about 1,000 clients from Kleinwort Benson that Kleinwort Benson felt it could no longer support profitably after the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review. The bank moved to new premises at St George Street in London in 2012. RHJ International became "BHF Kleinwort Benson Group" in March 2015 and was acquired by Oddo & Cie in early 2016. Then in June 2016,
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...
acquired Kleinwort Benson from Oddo et Cie. It merged the bank with its existing private banking subsidiary
SG Hambros Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years. The Bank ...
in November 2016 to form
Kleinwort Hambros Kleinwort Hambros is a private bank owned by Société Générale that offers financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Kleinwort Hambros focuses on private banking, providing a range of services for high ...
.


Notable current and former employees


Business

* Sir Alan Yarrow, former Lord Mayor of London (2014–2015) *
Bruce Wasserstein Bruce Jay Wasserstein (December 25, 1947 – October 14, 2009) was an American investment banker, businessman, and writer. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and spe ...
, former chairman and CEO of
Lazard Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's lar ...
*
Xavier Rolet Xavier R. Rolet (born 12 November 1959) is a French businessman and the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of World Quantum Growth Acquisition Corporation, a NYSE-listed company (WQGA.U). He was CEO of CQS until January 2020, and before ...
,
London Stock Exchange Group London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSEG) is a United Kingdom-based stock exchange and financial information company headquartered in the City of London, England. It owns the London Stock Exchange (on which it is also listed), Refinitiv, LSEG Te ...
, CEO *Sir
David Clementi Sir David Cecil Clementi (born 25 February 1949) is a British business executive and a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. He was formerly the Chairman of the BBC. Clementi holds a number of board positions including chairman of int ...
, Prudential, Chairman (2002–2008) *Sir
Adrian Montague Sir Adrian Alastair Montague (born February 1948) is a British solicitor and businessman. He was chairman of the insurance company Aviva from April 2015 to May 2020, and in July 2023 became chairman of financially troubled Thames Water. Early ...
,
Friends Provident Friends’ Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Based in Bradford, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century Insurance ...
, Chairman *
Callum McCarthy Sir Callum McCarthy (born 29 February 1944) is the former chairman of the Financial Services Authority. He is also the former non-executive chairman of Promontory Financial Group's UK affiliate. Early life and education McCarthy attended Manchest ...
,
HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
, Non-executive board member * Ronald Kramer, former President of
Wynn Resorts Wynn or wyn (; also spelled wen, ƿynn, and ƿen) is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound . History The letter "W" While the earliest Old English texts represent this phoneme with the digraph , ...
; current CEO of
Griffon Corporation Griffon Corporation is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in New York City. The company conducts its operations through five subsidiaries: The AMES Companies, ClosetMaid, Clopay Building Products, CornellCookson, and Telephonics Corp ...
* Luke Johnson,
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
, Chairman *
Máxima Zorreguieta Máxima may refer to * ''Máxima'' (magazine) * Máxima FM, Spanish radio station * Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Máxima (born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti; 17 May 1971) is Queen of the Netherlands as the wife of King Willem-Alexander. A ...
, former Vice-President at the department Emerging Markets, and queen consort of the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...


Politics and public service

*
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2003–2008); White House Chief of Staff (2008–2010) *
Peter Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester Peter Edward Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester, (25 March 1932 – 23 June 2010) was a British Conservative politician who served in Cabinet under Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Worcester from 1961 t ...
, Member of the British Parliament (1961–1992)


Arms


See also

*
Gold Fixing The London Gold Fixing (or Gold Fix) is the setting of the price of gold that takes place via a dedicated conference line. It was formerly held on the London premises of Nathan Mayer Rothschild & Sons by the members of The London Gold Market Fixi ...
* Sharps Pixley


References


Sources

* * *


Further reading

* {{Authority control Economy of the City of London Investment banks Banks established in 1786 Financial services companies established in 1786 Banks disestablished in 2016 Financial services companies disestablished in 2016