Barrenjoey Capital Partners is in the black and paying dividends for the first time since it started four years ago, with its largest shareholder describing the investment banking start-up as “one of Australia’s greatest success stories in the financial markets”.

The firm, founded by high-profile former UBS dealmakers Matthew Grounds and Guy Fowler in 2020, recorded a net profit of $34.7 million in the 12 months to June 30. It is a remarkable turnaround from a year earlier, when $62 million in costs related to the set-up of additional businesses and new offices plunged Barrenjoey to a $26 million loss.