By Lars Mucklejohn
Wall Street giant Jefferies and Anglo-South African group Investec have poached two top investment bankers from rival Citigroup to bolster their UK operations.
Alex De Souza, who previously worked as a managing director at Citi in London, will join Jefferies as co-head of UK and Ireland investment banking, a person familiar with the matter told City A.M.
De Souza’s new role is said to focus on UK industrials and business services. At Citi, his title was head of industrials UK & Ireland – banking, capital markets and advisory.
He is due to co-lead the unit at Jefferies’ alongside veteran investment banker Philip Noblet, formerly of HSBC and Bank of America, who has led the team there since 2018.
De Souza had worked at Citi for nearly eight years. He previously worked at Barclays for three years and Deutsche Bank for seven, specialising in areas including UK corporate finance, transportation and industrials. He began his career as a chartered accountant at PwC in 1996.
Separately, Luke Spells, another managing director at Citi will also leave the bank, trade title Financial News first reported.
Spells has worked at Citi for more than a decade, leading the bank’s coverage of UK mid-cap firms. He is due to join South African banking and wealth management group Investec as its head of UK advisory.
He first joined Citi in 2007 before leaving for a four-year stint corporate finance boutique Hawkpoint, later rejoining his previous employer in 2014.
A Jefferies spokesperson declined to comment when approached by City A.M. Investec was approached for comment.
