UBS begins Perth rebuild

Global investment bank UBS is rebuilding its Perth office after a short hiatus, luring Tim Andrew from his Cottesloe boutique practice.

Mr Andrew will bring more than 20 years international experience with Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered, broken by a two-year stint with Euroz, to his new role.

Upon his most recent return to Perth, in 2016, he teamed up with John Hannaford to establish View Street Partners, which has focused on startups and venture capital deals.

View Street expanded last year when it recruited Chris Bingemann, who had been investment banking director for Merrill Lynch in Perth since 2011.

As head of investment banking Perth for UBS, Mr Andrew plans to hire more people on the ground after he commences at the start of November.

He told Business News he was attracted by the opportunity to work with a global leader like UBS.

“My long-term DNA is working in large global investment banks, it’s what I love,” he said.

UBS has been a major player in the WA corporate finance market and, unlike some global peers that have come and gone, has maintained a local office since 2008.

However its local team decamped en masse to West Perth over the past year, after Tim Day established Sternship Advisers.

Co-head of investment banking Australia Anthony Sweetman said UBS remained committed to the Perth market and expected to maintain that in the very long term.

He said the gap after Tim Day left was due to the time it took to find a suitable replacement.

“You do need the right mix of skills to be effective in that office, it’s one of the more challenging roles in our business for that reason,” Mr Sweetman said.

“We took time to make sure we got the right person.”

Despite not having a permanent Perth presence over the past year, UBS has continued to be an active player.

It has completed capital raisings for Woodside Petroleum and Ausdrill and advised Wesfarmers on the sale of its east coast coal mines.

Mr Sweetman said the target market for UBS was unchanged, ranging from relatively small emerging companies to large corporates and government agencies.

The Perth office would continue to be supported by specialists in other offices.