Numis taps Goodbody sales trading head to lead Dublin hub

City of London stockbroker Numis Securities has hired Goodbody Stockbrokers' head of equity sales trading, Garret Ward, to head up its planned trading desk in Dublin to service clients in the European Union, according to sources.

Mr Ward, who has held his current position for about a decade, will join Numis early next year, they said. He is currently on gardening leave, having handed in his notice recently.

It is understood that Goodbody, which was acquired by AIB in September, will soon name a new head of equity sales trading. A spokesman for Goodbody and spokeswoman for Numis declined to comment on the matter.

"As previously communicated, our anticipated opening of a Dublin office will provide greater flexibility and an enhanced capability to target opportunities across the EU," the Numis spokeswoman said. "We will update the market on this strategic expansion once the application process with the Central Bank of Ireland is complete."

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Chance to expand

Numis confirmed in May that it plans to open an office in Dublin during the first half of 2022, as the London-based broker looks to expand its business in the euro zone. While it said at the time that Brexit had had “minimal impact on the performance of the business”, it acknowledged that an “an EU office would both restore certain EU institutional client relationships and provide us with the opportunity to expand our capital markets offering throughout Europe”.

The Irish Times had reported in April that Numis would initially employ fewer than 10 staff at the Dublin hub.

The firm was founded in 1989 as a merger between Hemsley & Co Securities and Raphael Zorn, an old City broker, and changed its name to Numis in 2000 following the sale of its private clients wealth management business.

The company has been competing with Dublin's Davy and Goodbody Stockbrokers in recent years in the area of corporate brokerships of Irish companies with UK listings. It has been involved in share sales by the likes of C&C, Draper Esprit and Hostelworld in the past 18 months.