There have been a lot of departures at Perella Weinberg Partners in London

High staff turnover in M&A and corporate finance is nothing unusual. Long hours and the lure of private equity careers mean most banks lose large chunks of their juniors within the first few years of hiring them. At boutique bank Perella Weinberg Partners' London office, however, the outflow seems to have become a bit excessive.

In the past three to six months, insiders say that over 10 people have left the UK business, which employs around 87 people, according to its most recently filed accounts for 2017. The exits comprise managing directors, analysts and associates, but are mostly people from the mid-ranks.

Those who've left are understood to include: Gabriel Hahn, an associate who joined in 2016; Daniel Wolfgarten, an associate who joined in 2015; Viktor Freystedt, a director who joined in 2012; Toma Ziegler, a director who joined in 2014; Louis Prades, a director who joined in 2011; James Triggs, a managing director who joined in 2006; Robert Nadler, an executive director who joined in 2016; Konstantin Eisenreich (of unknown rank); Christpher Kraft, an executive director who joined in 2009; Valentin Finck, an analyst who joined in 2017; Julian Kredisov, an associate who joined in 2016 and Louis Prades, a director who joined in 2010.

A spokesman for Perella declined to comment on the exits, as did most of those leaving - many of whom are still listed as working for the firm. Many are thought to have new jobs to go to. Nadler, for example, has joined William Blair. Fink has joined TA Associates. Kredisov is understood to be joining Apollo's private equity team. Prades is thought to be off to JPMorgan.

The reason for the exits is unclear. Perella has a reputation for paying well, and awarded its average UK employee £295k ($359k) in wages and salaries in 2017. One insider said people have been leaving because pay at Perella in London is less than in the U.S. and that the London office pays more like a bulge bracket than a boutique. However, another said this wasn't the case and that Perella's London office remains very generous.

There are complaints too about a lack of development opportunities for mid-ranking staff in London. If true, this may have been remedied by the exodus, which should make it easier for remaining mid-level staff to get promoted. 

Perella is understood to have introduced a new system whereby juniors working on sector-specific teams can be switched to other teams when big deals are underway. The move is understood to be in response to juniors' own wishes to gain deal exposure, rather than to a need to reorient comparatively scarce staff after all the departures.

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