Stockbroker Panmure Gordon approaches rival FinnCap about possible merger 

Panmure Gordon, the stockbroker controlled by former Barclays boss Bob Diamond, has approached rival FinnCap about a possible merger. 

It would bring together two of the best-known players in the area of advising small and medium-sized companies. But talks around a tie-up are at an early stage and a deal is not yet certain, according to Sky News. 

Diamond moved to take control of Panmure in 2017. He left Barclays in 2012, days after the bank was fined for manipulating Libor, the interest rate at which banks lend to each other. The stockbroker is majority-owned by Diamond’s vehicle Atlas Merchant Capital and is run by his former Barclays colleague Rich Ricci. 

FinnCap has seen its shares slump by over 60 per cent so far this year, with influential boss Sam Smith, one of the few female City bosses, leaving over the summer.