Present and former staff at Brown Shipley’s Manchester office have raised concerns over high turnover and issues with a new technology system, as the bank undergoes a period of transformation.
A current employee told thewealthnet around 30 of the private bank’s 110 Manchester-based staff had left or resigned over the last year due to “operational and cultural issues” – though it is understood about 10 of these were made redundant.
The employee said they believed the turnover was driven partly by the introduction of a new Lombard Odier system ‘G2’ which had led to frustration and inefficiency, as well as too much investment in top tier hires, leading to bureaucracy.
“It is my hope that by making the issues public, they will take serious steps to address them, as it is demoralising to work in such conditions,” the source said.
thewealthnet also spoke to two recent leavers, who echoed the concerns over staff morale. One said there had been a “culture shock” following closer involvement from Brown Shipley’s Luxembourg-headquartered parent Quintet, which not all staff were on board with.
Statistics provided by Brown Shipley show that during 2020, voluntary staff turnover across the bank was at 10 percent. The client net promoter score was 60, compared with an industry average of 46.
When approached for comment on the issues raised, Brown Shipley's chief executive Alan Mathewson said Manchester was a strategically important location and that he was grateful for staff support during a period of modernisation.
“Not only is the North West integral to our history and heritage, we are investing heavily in the region as part of our growth plans,” he said.
“Only earlier this week we announced we are moving our Manchester office to No. 1 Spinningfields, providing a high specification workspace which will best meet the needs of our clients and colleagues, and more flexible ways of working. This investment is part of broader growth and modernisation plans at Brown Shipley.”
This investment included an “ongoing programme of strategic hires” including head of Manchester Martin Cuthbert and Manchester client director Sam Fearon, who joined this month from Julius Baer and HSBC Private Bank respectively.
The area surrounding Brown Shipley's new Manchester office
Mr Mathewson added: “Modernising the bank means, among other things, focusing on our culture, diversity and inclusion. Colleagues are embracing these changes.
“The executive committee is very appreciative of their support, especially for their resilience, and the adaptions they’ve made to their ways of working, during the pandemic. Their professionalism is one of the bank’s true differentiators. Clients also appreciate what we offer as reflected by our high NPS scores.”
Mr Mathewson became chief executive of Brown Shipley in April 2018 and is based in London. The former chief executive, Ian Sackfield, was primarily based in Manchester and had remained with the bank as a client director before leaving in mid-2020.
The migration to G2 was completed in mid-2019 at a cost of about £3.5 million, following a two-year project. The bank’s present management has continued this focus on the bank’s technology, also working with Intelliflo and launching a client app, MyBrownShipley. Brown Shipley has said that the benefits of G2 include the easy integration of acquired business and an improved experience for clients.
The bank also recently announced a broadening of its services, creating a new charities and philanthropy offering, led by Rupert Cecil and a financial intermediaries (FIM) business, led by Philipp Iarmaltchouk.
It has upped its efforts on diversity and inclusion signing the Women in Finance Charter and reaching its initial target of 25 percent female representation in senior management in December 2020.
Brown Shipley has 416 full-time employees (FTEs) compared with 263 in 2015, and has assets under management of £9 billion.
