NewSmith strengthens corporate advisory arm

London, Tuesday, May 11, 2004

NewSmith Financial Solutions Ltd, the corporate advisory arm of NewSmith Capital Partners, has appointed Trevor May as Partner advising clients in the financial institutions sector.

Trevor May formerly worked in the top-ranked European insurance research team at Schroder Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup) where he also coordinated the firm’s global insurance research product. An equity research analyst for the last 18 years, he has also worked with UBS Philips & Drew, Nomura and BZW, continually ranking in the top 5 of major industry surveys for both life assurance and property & casualty insurance. He joins TJ Lim and his team at NewSmith Financial Solutions as part of an integrated group, advising clients on capital structure, balance sheet optimisation, and market interface.

Trevor brings insurance research and actuarial expertise to the advisory team. Further senior appointments to the NewSmith Financial Solutions team include that of Clive Anderson and Nicolas Rhally, both of whom joined as Partners in the second half of last year. Clive Anderson is a former Managing Director at Merrill Lynch, where he was head of Global Transport Research. In major industry surveys, Clive was voted Number 1 in his sector more than 20 times over the last 10 years and has frequently been voted in the top 10 of all European industry sector analysts. Clive brings equity market research expertise to the advisory team.

Nicolas Rhally is advising corporate finance clients in Continental Europe with particular emphasis on Switzerland and France. Nicolas is a former Managing Director at Merrill Lynch in London, where he set up the European Financial Sponsors Group, which he helped develop into one of the top investment banking businesses for Merrill Lynch in Europe, focusing on M&A, Debt, Equity and Fundraising services for the firm's major Private Equity clients. Nicolas brings Corporate Finance, M&A, and Investment Banking expertise to the group.

Paul Roy, Chairman of NewSmith Financial Solutions, said: "Between them, Trevor, Clive and Nicolas bring over 50 years of experience in cutting edge corporate finance and analysis to NewSmith. Coupled with the strong progress in our asset management group, this means that NewSmith Capital Partners is building a powerful momentum in our investment management and corporate advisory activities.

"We are continuing to strengthen NewSmith’s advisory capabilities in our targeted field of capital structure and balance sheet optimisation," said TJ Lim, who founded the financial solutions business with Kevin Krespi and Glenn Barnes in 2003.

"We welcome Clive, Nicolas and Trevor to the team, to strengthen the expertise we now have across both debt and equity markets as well as in corporate finance. We look forward to further building on an integrated advisory business and on the business momentum that we have developed since receiving our FSA authorisation last autumn. We will continue to selectively look to strengthen the team in our targeted sectors and areas of expertise."