- Evercore is rapidly expanding in Europe through the £146m acquisition of UK boutique Robey Warshaw and a wave of senior hires.
- The Robey Warshaw deal adds elite UK advisory access and scales Evercore to 400+ bankers across nine European countries, with management guiding to first-year EPS accretion.
- Evercore has recruited Rothschild European consumer co-head Jonathan Dale plus senior bankers from Citi and Barclays to strengthen consumer, sponsors/private equity and regional leadership.
- The moves intensify competition among European advisory firms for sponsor-led deal flow, raising integration, retention and margin-risk questions as Evercore scales.
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Evercore’s strategy in Europe is evolving rapidly in 2025–26, with the firm executing both a bolt-on acquisition and a string of strategic hires to enhance deal execution, client coverage and regional reach.
The acquisition of Robey Warshaw in July 2025 for £146 million (≈USD 196 million) gives Evercore immediate access to high-stakes, board-room level mandates in the UK market. Robey Warshaw, founded in 2013, has made its name advising on marquee deals—SoftBank’s bid for Arm, the SABMiller-AB InBev merger, among others—and boasts a partner group that includes former UK Chancellor George Osborne.
This acquisition not only adds capability but scale: post-deal Evercore will have over 400 bankers across nine countries in Europe, enhancing geographic coverage and sector specialist depth. Importantly, the purchase is expected to be accretive to both GAAP and adjusted EPS in the first full year after closing.
The recent hiring movement reinforces Evercore’s push. Jonathan Dale, co-head of Rothschild’s European consumer investment banking platform, has joined as a senior managing director in London, signaling intensified competition for top consumer-sector advisory talent. Parallel senior departures from Citigroup—Kaan Kesedar for private equity coverage, Lars Ingemarsson to lead the Nordic business, and Luigi de Vecchi to chair continental European advisory from Milan—indicate that Evercore is targeting both regional leadership and financial sponsors expertise.
In response, Rothschild has moved to shore up its sponsor coverage by hiring Andrew Richards from Barclays (EMEA head of financial sponsors) as a partner. These shifts suggest an arms race across firms for sponsor/private equity deal flow, which is expected to be a major revenue driver in 2026.
Strategic implications include:
- Evercore is using acquisition and poaching as dual levers—Robey Warshaw brings brand, relationships and mandate access; direct hires bring domain expertise and client relationships.
- There is a geographic push: UK remains central, but Milan, the Nordics and continental markets are now priority theaters.
- Margin pressure may rise if integration and retention costs double; the firm must maintain culture and deal rigor even as headcount booms.
Open questions to monitor would be:
- How Evercore will ensure retention of top executives, particularly partners from Robey Warshaw and poached bankers, given competitive counter-offers and regulatory/geopolitical risk.
- Whether Evercore’s revenue base will scale proportionately without diluting deal margins or bending its advisory model.
- How Rothschild, Barclays, Citi and other legacy boutiques respond—not just defensively, but proactively in pricing, product mix and cross-border coverage—to preserve market share in consumer, sponsors, and regional advisory.
Supporting Notes
- Evercore’s acquisition of Robey Warshaw is priced at £146 million (USD 196 million), payable in two tranches: part at closing in Evercore stock, part a year later in stock or cash; with additional performance-based earn-outs over several years.
- Robey Warshaw’s business includes high-profile advisory mandates (e.g., SABMiller-AB InBev, Arm acquisition, Refinitiv purchase), fewer than 20 employees, and partner profits reaching ~£70 million in its last full year prior to acquisition.
- Jonathan Dale is leaving Rothschild & Co after over 19 years, where he was co-head of consumer investment banking for Europe. He is joining Evercore as a senior managing director in London.
- Kaan Kesedar, a managing director in Citigroup’s London financial sponsors team since 2015 (promoted MD in 2019), is joining Evercore to cover private equity clients.
- Lars Ingemarsson (from Citi) has joined Evercore to lead its Nordic business; Luigi de Vecchi (ex-Citi) to chair continental European advisory in Milan.
- Rothschild has hired Andrew Richards, formerly co-head of financial sponsors EMEA at Barclays, to strengthen its sponsor coverage team amid growth expectations for 2026.
- Evercore expects Robey Warshaw acquisition to be accretive to both Adjusted and GAAP earnings per share in its first full year post-close.