Barrenjoey Capital Partners (Barrenjoey) is an Australian

investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...

firm that is headquartered in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with additional offices in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

History

In May 2020, former

UBS UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the ...

Australia chairman Guy Fowler and UBS Australia Head Matthew Grounds were in the process of launching their own firm with the backing of Magellan Financial Group and

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

and had already received signed contacts from 50 to 60 people ready to join the new firm. However the firm did not launch as planned as the two felt they were not ready, the structure needed to be changed and they lacked someone to run it for them. Eventually hired Brian Benari who was previously the CEO of financial services group, Challenger. On 21 September 2020, the new firm was officially launched as Barrenjoey (meaning young

Kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

) with 60 employees. Magellan owned a 40% stake in the firm while Barclays owned a 9.99% stake. Barrenjoey and Barclays would work on deals together where Barrenjoey would act in an advisory capacity to the parties while Barclays would provide the financing of the deal. During its start and early period, Barrenjoey poached many employees from UBS. In December 2020, Barrenjoey did its first

corporate finance Corporate finance is an area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, and the capital structure of businesses, the actions that managers take to increase the Value investing, value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analy ...

deal by advising the merger between Aussie and Lendi. Its first equities trade was buying shares in

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

. The firm grew at a very fast pace and became involved in multiple high-profile deals. In February 2021, businessman

David Gonski David Michael Gonski (born 1953) is an Australian public figure, corporate lawyer, and businessman. He is best known for his recommendations on funding education in Australia, schools in Australia, in a document known as the Gonski Report (or ...

joined Barrenjoey as a Non-executive chairman. In April 2021, former government minister Kelly O'Dwyer was added to the board of directors as the firm sought to raise female representation.. In September 2024,former Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe joined the board of directors . In June 2025, Fiona Hick was appointed to the board of directors By mid 2021,

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

chairman, Ken MacKenzie joined the firm as a Strategic Advisor. MacKenzie supported Jes Staley of Barclays to back Barrenjoey which would help expand Barclays' presence in Asia. Despite his link with Barrenjoey being considered a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

, BHP hired Barrenjoey to advise on its acquisition of Oz Minerals. In May 2022, Barclays increased its stake in Barrenjoey to 18.2%. On 9 February 2023, Governor of the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. Th ...

Philip Lowe Philip Lowe (born 4 October 1961) is an Australian economist and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, from September 2016 to September 2023. He was also deputy governor under Glenn Stevens from February 2012 to September 2016. E ...

had a closed door meeting with Barrenjoey which was leaked to the media. The move attracted criticism and Lowe later stated he would avoid attending events at the firm "for quite some time". In June 2023, Barrenjoey moved its headquarters to the

Quay Quarter Tower Quay Quarter Tower is a skyscraper located at 50 Bridge Street, Sydney, Australia. Built as the AMP Centre in 1976, the structure underwent a redevelopment from 2018 to 2021 which increased its height, introduced cantilevers, created additiona ...

. In the same period the firm was expanding its new departments which included

fixed income Fixed income refers to any type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the pr ...

, private investments and

prime brokerage Prime brokerage is the generic term for a bundled package of services offered by investment banks, wealth management firms, and securities dealers to hedge funds which need the ability to borrow securities and cash in order to be able to inves ...

as its corporate finance advisory business slowed due to market conditions. In August 2024, the ''

Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'' reported that Barrenjoey for the first time since its establishment had made a net profit and was paying dividends. In April 2024, Barrenjoey opened its first overseas office in

. In February 2025, Barrenjoey opened a further overseas office in

following the acquisition of Forsyth Barr’s Asian business. In 2025, Barrenjoey plans to register as a Swap Dealer with the

National Futures Association The National Futures Association (NFA) is the self-regulatory organization (SRO) for the U.S. derivatives industry, including on-exchange traded futures, retail off-exchange foreign currency (forex) and OTC derivatives ( swaps). NFA is headqu ...

.https://www.cftc.gov/IndustryOversight/Intermediaries/SDs/index.htm

References

External links

* {{authority control Australian companies established in 2020 Banks of Australia Banks established in 2020 Barclays Financial services companies based in Sydney Financial services companies established in 2020 Investment banks