Barrenjoey loses prime brokerage boss James Jennings ahead of selective bonus payments

Barrenjoey and its head of equity financing have parted ways, ahead of the firm embarking on a bonus payment round that was concentrated within more junior ranks.

Barrenjoey founding partner and chief executive Brian Benari is overseeing a round of selective bonus payments.

Barrenjoey and head of equity financing James Jennings have parted ways, ahead of the new investment bank embarking on a bonus payment round that was concentrated within more junior ranks.

Sources close to the firm told The Australian Mr Jennings, who was a founding partner and essentially led the firm’s push into prime brokerage, has departed Barrenjoey.

His LinkedIn profile says he joined the firm in 2020 after a 14-year stint at Deutsche Bank, where he was head of global prime finance for Australia and New Zealand.

The exit came ahead of Barrenjoey on Monday paying more junior staff their bonuses, but the bonus payments did not extend to all senior bankers, according to sources.

A sizeable group of senior bankers were told bonus payments would not be forthcoming this year as the firm took a longer-term view of performance.

Staff own just shy of 50 per cent of Barrenjoey.

A Barrenjoey spokesman said: “Through this bonus season we’ve seen the strength of the staff ownership model in action with the departure of only one staff member to a competitor.”

Barrenjoey is led by chief executive Brian Benari, but also counts former UBS Australia boss Matthew Grounds and lieutenant Guy Fowler among its most senior ranks.

Analysts and industry participants will gain more information on how the firm is tracking when investor Magellan Financial Group reports earnings on Wednesday.

Magellan will deliver annual profits and its accounts will provide insights into investment bank Barrenjoey‘s financial position.

Barrenjoey has had a busy year on the merger and acquisition advisory front, but the firm does have a hefty cost base given it has been scaling up operations in the past two years.

Initially Barclays owned a 10 per cent stake in Barrenjoey alongside Magellan at 40 per cent, while Barrenjoey staff owned 50.01 per cent.

Barclays in May increased its shareholding in Barrenjoey to 18.2 per cent by subscribing to $75m of new capital. That diluted existing shareholders including staff and Magellan.

Newer firms in the Australian market including Barrenjoey and Jarden are being closely watched by rivals, particularly as initial public offering activity remains soft in 2022 and as M&A moderates from record levels.