Investec to axe 210 jobs in the City of London as lockdown bites

INVESTEC said today it had battled through the lockdown period in tact, but that it is unlikely to pay a dividend for the half-year.

There will be 210 job cuts in London as it moves to “simplify and focus the business”. That’s about 13% of the total workforce in the City.

If that pattern is repeated across town, there will be thousands of jobs lost in the Square Mile.

The UK and South African broker and fund manager saw assets under management rise by 14% to £51.4 billion in the five months to August. Loans declined by 1.3% to £24.6 billion.

Fani Titi, Chief Executive of Investec, said: "The business has proved resilient in a period characterised by COVID-19 stringent lockdowns in the first quarter, followed by a gradual reopening of the economies. Severe GDP contractions and volatile financial markets negatively impacted revenues. Capital and liquidity ratios remain robust and are expected to be stable.”