Veteran slams the ‘greed’ of the big firms

ONE of Britain’s longest serving stockbrokers has slammed the “unadulterated greed” which has damaged the reputation of many big companies, as he prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Keith Loudon, who has worked at Leeds-based Redmayne Bentley for 57 years, also condemned the practice of “gambling with other people’s money” which was one of the factors that caused the global financial crisis.

Mr Loudon, who is 80 on April 8, added: “The culture of the big organisations has changed, from the idea of doing what is right, to doing what you can get away with.

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“It’s a great incentive for honesty when you put your own money at risk.”

During his career, Mr Loudon has witnessed revolutionary changes in the financial world, but he still believes the old-fashioned virtues of honesty and integrity are paramount.

He added: “Regulation has to be targeted. There’s a vast difference between a firm like us, which is basically a private client stockbrokers, and the big international brokers, merchant bankers and financiers. They need a lot more careful control.

“You don’t get traditional firms going bust. One of the things that’s got to happen in the coming years, is that there’s got to be a return to the trust that the financial world once had.

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“Individuals have got to adhere to a code of conduct that’s got to be enforced. In the 1950s, there were companies at a national level that got into trouble. But at the grass roots, I don’t recall people absconding with funds or anything like that.”

Redmayne Bentley has been part of the Leeds corporate landscape since Victorian times. Back in 1875, a bank clerk called John Redmayne decided to set up his own stockbroking business in Leeds.

One hundred and thirty eight years later, the firm – now known as Redmayne-Bentley – is still going strong. Following a series of acquisitions and mergers, Redmayne Bentley now has around 300 staff and more than 30 branches in the UK and Ireland.

In 1923 Mr Loudon’s father – Gavin – joined the firm. Thirty-three years later, when Mr Loudon, started working there, the company employed just four people.

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It was an era of change. Many of the regional stock exchanges were merging, and stockbrokers faced a raft of new regulations.

Mr Loudon’s father, Gavin, adapted to these times by arranging the merger of three old-established firms: Redmayne & Co, JW Granger & Co and FW Bentley & Co. It was decided that the name of the new outfit would be Redmayne-Bentley.

Mr Loudon, who is the firm’s senior partner, recalled: “My father had been a clerk in the air force. When he left the air force he was offered two jobs – one at Thomas Cook, the travel agent, and the other was Redmayne & Co. I was delighted when my father asked me to join him.”

In 1956, Leeds, along with many British cities, had its own stock exchange, and lots of business was still conducted face to face.

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“We had a teleprinter on which we got a long list of prices twice a day,’’ said Mr Loudon. “Now people expect a price based on the minute. The Leeds stock exchange had about 20 members. The members used to meet at 11am and 3pm every day. Not a lot of business was done on the Leeds floor; it mainly went to London.”

According to Mr Loudon, Yorkshire’s economic strength has always been built around its ability to attract and retain a diverse range of businesses.

“It (Leeds) was the world centre in ready-made clothing until that moved overseas. That was where vast numbers of men and women worked. Wm Morrisons (the Bradford-based supermarket chain) started off as being quoted in Leeds.”

During the Second World War, Redmayne’s teleprinter would have played a vital role in keeping Yorkshire people informed, if the Yorkshire Post building had suffered a direct hit.

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Mr Loudon recalled: “The Yorkshire Post had a direct line to Reuters.

“It was arranged that if the Yorkshire Post was bombed, and their communications were cut, Reuters could divert their flow of international news into Redmayne & Co’s teleprinter, and so the journalists who survived would have been able to put together a paper and keep the people in Leeds informed.

“That never happened, thank goodness. It was the sort of thing that had to be arranged if the country was going to be attacked or invaded.”

Mr Loudon, who has no plans to retire, believes stockbrokers are a hardy breed. In 1900, John Percival Hartley came from London and opened a branch office for Redmayne & Co in Harrogate. He manned the office for a staggering 60 years.

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When Mr Loudon started work, the Leeds stock exchange’s chairman was Warren Hastings Kaye, who worked for R Salmon Backhouse stockbrokers until he was 95.

Even when Mr Loudon retires, the Loudon family ties with Redmayne Bentley are set to continue.

His grand-daughter Nicola has started work in Redmayne Bentley’s Harrogate office.

In recent years, Redmayne Bentley’s work has taken on an international dimension, with the opening of an Irish office in Cork.

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Mr Loudon believes the firm is still true to the principles established by John Redmayne.

He added: “When firms become very big, they become more remote.

“But we have a great comradeship across the whole firm. That’s all part of our reputation.

“We’re very proud of the level of service we give,” he said.

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