Panmure’s new city office a vote of confidence

Ms Lake, a past chairman of lobby group Financial Leeds, will be joined by Peter Steel, her former colleague at Evolution Group.

The historic bank’s move represents a vote of confidence in Yorkshire, said a spokesman.

Phillip Wale, chief executive, told the Yorkshire Post: “We are delighted to be expanding in the North, with a well-established Liverpool presence and now the opening of our new Leeds office.

“Success stories such as WANdisco continue to prove that right across the North there is a rich seam of corporate dynamism; Joanne and Peter will be outstanding supporters of companies looking to grow.”

Ms Lake, 49, joined from Sanlam, the South African-owned financial services group. She spent a year at its securities division in Leeds. Previously she worked at Henry Cooke Group, Williams de Broë and Evolution Group, which was taken over by Investec.

She said: “Panmure Gordon’s name is one of the UK’s oldest and most respected in the world of independent corporate finance houses. It will be a pleasure to connect local businesses into the firm’s global reach and experience.”

Panmure brought four companies to the market last year, including WANdisco, the Silicon Valley technology company founded by Yorkshireman David Richards.

Ms Lake, a chartered accountant, is a non-executive director of Mattioli Woods plc, chairman of the London Stock Exchange Regional Advisory Group for Yorkshire and the North East and a trustee of The Hepworth gallery in Wakefield.

She told the Yorkshire Post: “We will hopefully be executing transactions as we start to build up our client base.

“It’s too early to talk about a great improvement but I do think there is some more interest in companies coming to the market. There are certainly more enquiries.

“Panmure is a really strong independent investment bank. It’s got a great reputation, great history and a great track record. For us to bring that to the Yorkshire market has got to be good news.”