Cardiff-based Lexington Corporate Finance has bolstered its specialist advisory credentials with the appointment of HSBC’s former head of corporate banking as a senior advisor to its team.
Warren Lewis, 54, retired from HSBC in September, after a 35-year career where he gained invaluable experience across a range of disciplines, from credit and risk management to retail, commercial and global banking. He spent the last eight years as Head of Corporate Banking for Wales, where he supported clients with major restructures, international mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments and MBOs.
Mr Lewis joins Lexington in a move that further bolsters the firm’s corporate advisory credentials and supports its ambitious growth plans. Over the last 12 months, Lexington’s award-winning team has advised on more than £200m worth of deals and became the first firm in the UK to join Eaton Square – an international membership network of corporate finance advisors which is already paying dividends to the global reach that Lexington can deliver.
Gary Partridge, managing director of Lexington Corporate Finance, said: “Warren brings a huge amount of corporate finance know-how to the table, as well as significant experience in international deals, green technology and sustainable investment, which provides an additional dimension to the services we are able to offer our clients.
“It is an exciting time for Lexington and we are pleased to have someone with Warren’s experience on board, as we look at different ways to add value to our clients and help them realise their ambitions.”
Warren Lewis added; “Over my time at HSBC, I worked with many amazing businesses here in Wales. The opportunity to join forces with Lexington to develop its ESG Advisory services and augment its traditional offering is incredibly exciting. The firm is dynamic and ambitious, and puts a real value on developing long-term relationships with clients, investors and intermediaries. The opportunity to add value, support their growth and in turn the growth and success of their clients, is what really attracted me to this opportunity, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Mr Lewis joined the bank aged 18, after standing aside from an opportunity of a full-time place at university to read Law, to join the executive development programme of what was then Midland Bank in West Wales. Working four days a week whilst studying for his banking degree in Swansea, he qualified as a chartered banker at the age of 22.
His career took him east, via Swansea, Neath and Cardiff, to London, where he added an international dimension to his role, working with a number of global, blue-chip clients before returning to Commercial Banking in roles across Bristol and the South of England.
Since moving back to Wales in the early 2000s, he has specialised in corporate banking, working largely with businesses of £25m turnover and upwards, advising on a range of domestic and international deals and supporting the growth and succession plans of a range of owners and investors. He also has a passion for advising businesses on the impact they have on the environment, as well as the wider implications of good Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG).
“Within the investment community, there is a huge focus on environmental and social responsibility together with strong governance policies, and there’s no doubt that businesses that put time and effort into getting these aspects right are going to make themselves more attractive to investors, as well as to prospective employees and external stakeholders”, said Mr Lewis. “It’s all being driven ultimately by customers who want to support organisations that ‘do the right thing’ and has become an essential ingredient for every successful business, whatever sector they operate in.”
From October, Mr Lewis is now chairing the Cardiff Capital Region’s Climate Coalition, a body with a mission to empower businesses with the “knowledge, resources, and voice” that enable them to take the actions necessary to play their part in the race to net zero.
He will also continue in a voluntary capacity as a board member of Maggie’s Cancer Care in Wales, where he has spent the last decade as an active member of the fundraising board.