Guy Hands' Terra Firma has made a major new hire from Nomura

A former managing director at Nomura, who’s been out of banking for nearly two years, has just re-emerged in a senior role at Guy Hands’ Terra Firma.

Martin Bates, who was previously head of spread product sales for EMEA at Nomura, has just signed up to Terra Firma as investor relations director with responsibility for UK and European coverage. A Terra Firma spokesperson confirmed his appointment.

He’ll report into Paul Spillane, head of investor relations. Terra Firma has been bolstering its investor relations team as it prepares to raise capital again after nearly a decade sitting on dry powder. It hired Cathy Johnson, who previously worked for hedge fund Chenavari Investment Managers, as an investor relations director in August last year.

Bates has held various senior roles in the City, initially joining Morgan Stanley in 1992 before moving on to a managing director role at Bear Stearns in 2003 and then Royal Bank of Scotland in 2006. However, Bates left Nomura in 2015 for personal reasons and has now decided to return to financial services.

Before joining Nomura in 2013, Bates was head of credit sales at Lloyds Banking Group.

Terra Firma told us that it was “delighted to have such a seasoned professional join the team”.

Investor relations is also increasingly providing a new vocation for investment bankers looking for a change. Rick Lawrence, an executive director in the financial sponsors group at Goldman Sachs, joined PE firm Montagu Private Equity as investor relations director, while Morgan Stanley VP Owen Price joined Cybg Plc, the holding company that owns Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank in the UK, as a director in investor relations in March.

Terra Firma, meanwhile, has been hiring. It brought in 11 new people as it prepares to spend up to €1bn in capital, according to Financial News.

Despite making some recent senior hires whose background is in investment banking, founder Guy Hands said in January that Terra Firma has slashed graduate salaries by 50% – to £35k – and eliminated bonuses in order to dissuade those applicants with “short-term aims” who might also have tried to break into Goldman Sachs.

Contact: pclarke@efinancialcareers.com