NH Investment opens London affiliate to ramp up global IB business

NH Investment & Securities Co. has set up its affiliate incorporated in London, the South Korean major brokerage house announced on April 27. The brokerage firm is aiming to provide various investment banking opportunities via the London affiliate, named NH Investment & Securities Europe, to Korean investors.

Based on its broad networks with overseas investment banks, the new affiliate will cover deals from Europe and North America as well as lead global co-investment of its parent group NongHyup Financial Group Inc. In the mid-to-long-term, it will handle equity and bond brokering, fund sales and asset management. The London affiliate will hire professionals for real estate and infrastructure investing and acquisition financing soon, the brokerage house said.

NH founded its London branch in 2015 and has picked global alternative investment deals for Korean investors since then. However, the branch hasn’t been able to execute investments on its own and has had to follow the Korean headquarters’ direction for its business.

In October 2020, the brokerage firm decided to transfer the branch office to an affiliate in a bid to strengthen the global IB business. It acquired a business license from the Financial Conduct Authority, the financial regulatory body of the UK, on April 6. The affiliate, a subsidiary of the Korean headquarters, will be able to directly participate in investment deals and manage its own financial records, an official from the brokerage house said.

The Korean brokerage firm is proactive in alternative investments in Europe and the US. Last December,  NH and the Korean unit of Singapore's ARA Asset Management jointly acquired Marble Arch Place, a newly constructed seven-story commercial building in London's West End, for £280 million ($350.7 million).

Also, NH and Korea's Tiger Alternative Investors Co. purchased multifamily homes in California for $220 million last September. The building, dubbed The Monterey, is based in the Inland Empire community of Corona, CA, including 442 homes and community facilities.

Write to Jae-Yeon Ko at yeon@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.