The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Osborne to get share of investment boutique’s £32m profits
FORMER chancellor George Osborne is in line for a share of nearly £32m of profits at Robey Warshaw in what marks his second major payout as a banker.
Mr Osborne will split the profits with three other partners of the investment banking firm: founders Sir Simon Robey, Simon Warshaw and Philip Apostolides.
The former Tory MP joined the bank in April 2021 after stepping down as editor of the Evening Standard.
This year’s haul marks his second windfall after he split £30.1m of profits with partners last year. Accounts filed at Companies House show Robey Warshaw’s revenues rose to £46.1m for the year ending March 2023, up from £39.8m last year. Profits split between the four partners were £31.8m, up from £30.1m in 2022. One of the partners, assumed to be Sir Simon, took home the bulk of the profits at £20.4m.
Robey Warshaw worked on deals including Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s £4.25bn takeover of Chelsea and Vodafone’s sale of its telephone mast business during the period.
The company also acted on Microsoft’s $70bn takeover of Activision, which faced significant hurdles in winning approval from regulators around the world. Other accounts include the banking giant HSBC and the energy company National Grid, which turned to Robey Warshaw for advice on a deal with Macquarie.
Mr Osborne, who was chancellor between 2010 and 2016, was once known for his portfolio of jobs.
He quit most positions to join Robey Warshaw two years ago. He remains chairman of the British Museum. Last year’s performance is impressive given the slowdown in M&A activity. This year has been the worst for deal-making in a decade. Boutique firms such as Robey Warshaw are generally shielded from trends that affect large banks, given their bespoke offering.
The firm employs just 13 staff, excluding the four partners.
Sir Simon, a former Morgan Stanley banker, and Mr Warshaw, a former UBS banker, joined with former Goldman Sachs banker Sir Simon Robertson to found Robertson Robey Associates in 2013. The trio were dubbed “the three Simons” of investment banking before Sir Simon Robertson departed and the firm was abandoned. It was resurrected as Robey Warshaw a year later.