Excitement was building in the offices of investment bank Barrenjoey on Friday, when bonus payments were revealed.
And it wasn’t at all bad news.
Top performers were handsomely rewarded, but some others were given far less generous top-up payments.
If it’s anything like the way things played out when leaders Matthew Grounds and Guy Fowler were at the helm at their old employer UBS, some disappointed staff could depart.
The question is whether they find jobs elsewhere.
Barrenjoey has been prolific on the deal-making scene in the past year, working on some big-ticket mandates. And Magellan’s accounts last month revealed it was profitable.
Magellan owns 36.4 per cent of Barrenjoey. It said profit from associates – largely Barrenjoey – was $3.1m, with 35 per cent revenue growth for the bank and flat operating costs.
However, it’s unclear how much Barrenjoey charges its clients in fees.
Another unknown is how much cash – and how much shares – will be part of the latest bonus rewards round.
Last year, in what was a tough period in investment banking across the board, Barrenjoey had been paying its banker bonuses in monthly instalments instead of quarterly, sources said at the time.
Some of Barrenjoey’s investment activities have been adding support to its bottom line.
Barrenjoey was launched in 2020 by ex-UBS Australia leaders Matthew Grounds and Guy Fowler and now has over 300 staff.
It has been making similar moves to groups like MA Financial and Macquarie Group lately with its float of Guzman y Gomez, of which it was a shareholder.
It has purchased a stake in the Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre in Adelaide, and half the $350m Westfield West Lakes shopping centre from Dexus, after raising funds to pay for the asset, and it made efforts to buy a strategic stake in packaging company Orora.
Barrenjoey uses its strong connections with private family offices and other networks to help fund the transactions.
This is happening under the leadership of Barrenjoey’s private capital head Michael Vardanega and with help from real private capital head Angelo Scasserra, who is the former Australian investment banking head of Credit Suisse. Asset management is a growing part of the Barrenjoey business.
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