Stockbroker Panmure Gordon has lined up a new chairman to oversee an overhaul of the struggling 140-year-old business.
It is understood that the company is close to appointing Andrew Adcock, 61, managing partner of private wealth manager Brompton Asset Management and a director of Foxtons, the estate agent.
He will join at a difficult time. Panmure replaced chief executive Phillip Wale in February after a £4.1m annual loss. The deficit was due to a drought in stock market floats and fundraisings, and new rules to reduce the fees paid for company research. Several of its competitors have gone bust or shed staff.
New boss Patric Johnson, who has already taken more than £2m out of the business through redundancies, is under immense pressure to return the company to profit. When he was appointed, QInvest, the Qatari investment bank and 48% shareholder, underwrote his turnaround plan with a £5m loan. The bank, however, is sitting on a huge paper loss since it first invested in 2009.
WMG, the investment fund run by former banker Mehmet Dalman, has built up a 9% stake in the past six months and is not likely to remain passive. Rumours have swirled about potential takeover offers for the business, which is one of the most celebrated names in the City but whose influence has faded. Its shares closed on Friday at 59p, valuing the company at just £9m.