amicaa sets up shop on the Terrace

Sydney-based boutique corporate adviser amicaa is angling for a slice of the action on the west coast, stationing ex-Hall & Prior director David Holmes as the local lead. 

The firm is steered over east by Perth native David Wood, who was head of investment banking Australia for Bank of America Merill Lynch before taking up the role as chief executive of amicaa in Sydney in 2019.

Looking to secure a foothold in Perth, the firm has set up an office on St Georges Terrace, led by former Hall & Prior corporate development director and ex-Macquarie David Holmes.

The pair told Business News they'd seen opportunity as larger bulge bracket firms ebbed away from WA and were keen to bring their experiences in that space to the Perth market. 

amicaa specialises in corporate advisory and credit investment, anchored by a joint venture with NASDAQ-listed investment firm Carlyle - an element they believe will give them an advantage in the local scene. 

"There’s a unique aspect to Western Australia whereby you have a smaller population but outsized capital projects compared to the rest of the world," CEO David Wood said. 

"Having a physical presence on the ground, being permanent and having people that can build those relationships is really important. You can fly people over, but its just not the same as being here."

Perth director David Holmes said clients were looking for options in terms of advice and service. 

"Because we are Perth born and bred, we actually have a genuine commitment to this market...and I'm very pleased to be leading that."

Most recently the team advised on the merger of Pantoro and Tulla Resources, with gold consolidation in WA a story that the firm sees as having more to play out. 

"There’s a few big thematics we think are interesting here, gold consolidation is one, strangely enough there’s deconsolidation in gold because not all assets are in the right buckets," Mr Wood said. 

Opportunities presented by the energy transition and in what he called 'old word' commodities are also a big ticket item.

"There’s a bit of a chess board, you’ve got the Perth Basin you’ve got natural gas here, you’ve got renewables... there’s a lot more to be done in the energy transition."

There are some 10 amicaa staff working across Sydney and Perth.