Broker Baillieu expands into Perth

Australia’s oldest stockbroking firm, E.L. & C. Baillieu, has expanded its business into Western Australia, following similar moves by global and national players in law and management consulting areas.

E.L. & C. Baillieu, which already has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Bendigo and Newcastle, opened its Perth office after joining forces with advisers from local stockbroking firm Minc.

Minc broker and now state manager of E.L & C Baillieu, Karl Laufmann, said that after collaborating with E.L & C Baillieu on a number of capital raisings, it was a natural decision to work with the firm to establish its brand in WA.

“At last year’s ‘Diggers and Dealers’ (conference) two of Baillieu’s directors, Richard Morrow and head of corporate Steve Macaw, canvassed the idea … and Baillieu have been looking for some time for the right people to represent them in the west,” Mr Laufmann said.

E.L. & C. Baillieu started business in 1889 in Melbourne and has since merged with Sydney stockbroker K.J. Polkinghorne. It entered into a strategic alliance with global investment bank Credit Suisse in 2006.

The firm’s managing director, Gavin Powell, said WA was the best place to grow the business. “Firstly, Perth is a growing market, it has the mining boom and there are people here with money to invest,” Mr Powell said.

“And, secondly, we identified the right types of advisers through the relationships we had and to us that’s the most important thing, we need the right advisers on board to provide a good service to clients.”

Mr Laufmann said it did not take long for the Minc team to realise it was a great opportunity.

“The most important thing is what you can offer your clients and a firm with the wrong culture can’t offer clients anything, there was no problem with the culture at Minc but Baillieu’s had such a bigger corporate offering for clients,” he said.

“Being on the west coast, combined with their research capability on the east coast, it’s a fantastic offering … they are very strong in the mining and resources sector, particularly with mid-cap miners, so the Perth office can act as a conduit to growing those relationships.”

Brokers Barry Atkinson, Donald Smith, Travis Hansen and Owen Clare join Mr Laufmann.