TP ICAP axes jobs despite jump in post-merger profits
TP ICAP cut 175 roles in the six months to June 30, with more jobs to go as the broking giant begins to fuse teams from Tullett Prebon and the phonebased broking unit of ICAP.
The group, formed by the £1.3bn merger of two of the City’s biggest brokers last December, said in its first-half results that revenues had risen 12pc to £925m, while pre-tax profit was up 16pc to £129m.
The period saw the newly created business kick off its integration, resulting in the loss of 175 support staff and £8m in savings out of a £10m target for the year.
“Remember we’re trying to save a lot of money here – it’s not over yet,” said John Phizackerley, the chief executive, adding that more staff reductions would come.
“A large part of the integration is around support staff and IT. [There’s also] a whole churn of brokers coming and going.”
The group, which acts as the middleman between banks in complicated trades, saw its broker headcount drop 4pc to 2,904 during the period.
However, it has also pledged to hire in certain areas – namely in IT, where it wants to have 300 specialists based in a new tech centre in Belfast by 2019, of which 50 people were hired in the first half of the year.
It is also set to beef up its presence in Europe following the conclusion of the Brexit negotiations, although Mr Phizackerley said the group would expand existing offices rather than picking a new hub.
The company currently has a presence in Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid.
While he said in an earnings statement the firm was talking to regulators from all of the above locations, he told The Daily Telegraph that “we will not announce a big, single uber-hub” in one of those cities.
“Understandably the banks are picking a city. We will not have a designated single hub,” he said, adding that the number of people moving from the UK would be “in terms of per cent, single digits” rather than an exodus of jobs.
Shares in TP ICAP closed up 1.1pc at 496.2p yesterday.