City stockbroker Numis hunts for new HQ

Numis, a stockbroker and corporate finance advisory firm, is searching for a new headquarters in the City of London.  The firm has hired agency Savills to help it find new premises of around 40,000 sq ft, according to market sources. That is a step up from the 31,000 sq ft the firm leases in 10 Paternoster Square, according to Radius Data Exchange. Numis’s current office is also home to the London Stock Exchange. Its lease there expires in late 2021. Andrew Holloway, Numis’s chief financial officer, declined to comment on the search. Two people familiar with the situation said the firm had shown interest in Gresham St Paul’s, a nine-storey office redevelopment being overseen by Stanhope and AFIAA at 40 Gresham Street, expected to open next year. Smith & Williamson, a financial services firm, has already taken almost 100,000 sq ft of Gresham St. Paul’s. Numis’s planned move comes as the firm boosts its headcount in the Square Mile. Average headcount at the firm stood at 278 during the six months to 31 March, according to half-year results, up 13.5% from a year earlier.  “Periods of market dislocation generally present good hiring opportunities, and while we do not expect a material change in our headcount across the remainder of the year, we may consider such opportunities on a selective basis,” the firm said in those results. Additional reporting by Louise Dransfield To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette