Our people
At Singer Capital Markets we seek to employ people with different life experiences who can challenge conventional thinking and benefit our clients. Our equity partnership structure fuels a collaborative style of working, with 75% of our people owning equity within the business. At the heart of our values and working practices is that our clients’ success is our success.
Steve Pearce
Chief Executive Officer
Steve Pearce
Steve was appointed CEO in September 2022 having previously served as Head of Investment Banking and Board Director since January 2020.
He has over 20 years’ of experience as a corporate finance adviser to UK listed plc’s and managing investment banking operations providing Corporate Broking, ECM and M&A services.
Prior to joining Singer Capital Markets he spent 12 years at Liberum having been a founding member of its corporate advisory business.
Steve qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC and is a graduate of Durham University.
Commenting on his appointment as Chief Executive:
“I am a passionate believer in capital markets, the growth companies they fund and the role both play in supporting the UK economy. Singer Capital Markets operates at the heart of this ecosystem, it’s a privilege to lead such a talented group of professionals as we strive to build a brilliant business that has a positive impact on the world around us.”
Tom Salvesen
Head of Investment Banking
Tom Salvesen
Prior to his appointment as Head of Investment Banking in 2022, Tom served as Head of Corporate Broking and ECM since 2018.
Tom joined Singer Capital Markets in July 2018 and has over 10 years’ experience in the UK small and mid-cap equity market, firstly as a salesman and latterly as a corporate broker. As well as his advisory capabilities, Tom maintains strong relationships across multiple key institutions in London and throughout the UK. He has also helped structure and lead numerous secondary fundraisings and IPOs’ in a diverse range of sectors.
Alex Hardwicke
Head of Markets
Alex Hardwicke
Alex studied Psychology at Exeter University and began his 23 year City career at Albert E Sharp Securities. Prior to joining Singer Capital Markets in 2012, Alex was Head of Sales at Charles Stanley Securities and Altium Securities. He has been ranked as a top 3 small & mid cap salesman by Extel, and currently manages several of the largest UK clients. Alex went to Malvern College where his love of sports developed (hockey, cricket and golf). He is married with two boys and a spaniel.
Mark Westcott
Chief Strategy Officer
Mark Westcott
Mark started his career in Equity Sales before moving into a leadership role as Head of Institutional Equity Sales at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe. Following this, he was co-founder of ShadowFall Capital & Research LLP and in August 2021, he joined Singer Capital Markets as the Head of Products before quickly moving into the role of Chief Strategy Officer.
Shaun Dobson
Chairman of Corporate Finance
Shaun Dobson
Shaun has been in the City for over 25 years and has covered every aspect of Corporate Finance, from advising on large scale mergers to capital raising activities, and currently runs one of the largest corporate teams by clients in our industry. Shaun is married with three children and is an extremely competitive sportsman, especially at table tennis.
James Maxwell
Head of Corporate Finance
James Maxwell
James joined Singer Capital Markets in July 2007 to focus on Investment Funds, Real Estate and Media Sectors. Previously at HSBC and Williams de Broë, since 1999, James has gained extensive equity capital markets and M&A experience across a wide variety of transactions. Prior to starting in the City he qualified as an ACA with Ernst & Young in 1997 in their corporate advisory and financial markets practices.
Julie Nguyen
Head of Human Resources
Julie Nguyen
Julie joined Singer Capital Markets in March 2015, having previously held various roles in financial services, HR and fund administration in both the UK and Australia. Julie studied a Bachelor of Business (Financial Planning) at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia and holds a MBA from Heriot-Watt University and a CIPD qualification.
Alan Geeves
Head of Investment Funds
Alan Geeves
Alan joined the Investment Funds team at Singer Capital Markets in April 2009 and has been an Investment Funds specialist for over 28 years. His early career was at Hambros Bank, BZW and Hoare Govett as a Salesman. He moved to Collins Stewart to head the Sales team in 1999 and worked there until mid 2005, when he left to co-found Fairfax, the investment bank, which he left in late 2008. Alan has helped raise over £4bn for new funds in the last 8 years.
Richard Hickinbotham
Head of Research
Richard Hickinbotham
Richard is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years’ experience in the City, and holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College.
Prior to joining Singer Capital Markets, Richard has held various senior broking roles, including: Global Head of Research and co-Head of UK Investment Banking at Investec; Head of pan-European Small and Midcap research at UBS and most recently Head of European Research at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe. During his career Richard has been top rated in SmallCap Electronics and Engineering and also has experience of working in the corporate world.
Richard is passionate about skiing and can usually be found in St Anton as and when time permits. He is also a keen clay shooter.
Dr. Karl Keegan PhD
Deputy Head of Research
Dr. Karl Keegan PhD
Karl joined Singer Capital Markets in February 2021 and has over 25 years’ experience in the life sciences sector, including 12 years as an analyst and 10 years in a variety of corporate executive roles in public and private biotech companies, primarily as CFO. He has been involved in financings in the UK, EU, US and Canada. Outside of work, Karl is a keen long distance swimmer and advanced motorcycle instructor.
Kitty McArdle
Head of Investor Relations
Kitty McArdle
Kitty joined the Investor Relations team after previously working as part of the Investor Relations teams at Dowgate Capital as well as Stockdale Securities. Kitty started her career as a PA in the Corporate Broking team at Numis in 2014.
Martin Campbell
Head of Sales Trading
Martin Campbell
Martin studied at Durham University and started his career in 1997 at Henderson Crosthwaite and then Investec. He moved to Bridgewell & Teathers before joining Singer Capital Markets in 2009. Martin is Head of Trade Execution, covering every listed company in the £50-£250m market cap range. Martin enjoys playing five-a-side football, cycling and running the odd half marathon when his kids allow him the time.
Gareth Henderson
Head of Market Making
Gareth Henderson
Gareth started his market making career in 1998 at Winterflood Securities where he specialised in Aim and SmallCap companies. After 21 years he left Wins to join Singer Capital Markets as Head of Market Making. Gareth enjoys mountain biking and horse racing, recently retiring as an amateur jump jockey….much to the delight of his wife and three daughters. Gareth also enjoys running and completed the 2019 London marathon in a respectable 2 hours and 57 minutes.
James Wotherspoon
Finance Director
James Wotherspoon
James has worked for Singer Capital Markets for 14 years, having joined the firm in May 2008.
Spencer King
Chief Technology Officer
Spencer King
Spencer studied Computing at Portsmouth University and began his career in 1997 at AllianceBernstein, where he enjoyed a wide range of technology and change management roles. Prior to joining Singer Capital Markets in 2015, Spencer was Head of Information Technology covering the EMEA & APAC regions. Spencer is married with two children and enjoys all things tech.
Joanna Osborne
Head of Marketing
Joanna Osborne
Joanna joined Singer Capital Markets in 2018, having previously delivered strategic marketing communications and events for companies including JP Morgan, O2 Telefonica and Greenall’s Gin. She holds a BA (Hons) degree in Business and Management, as well as a Diploma in Professional Digital Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Paul Cooper
Operations Director
Paul Cooper
Paul joined R J Thompson in 1987 as a Trader, before moving to the London Stock Exchange in 1991, where he discovered his role in Operations. He remained there a year before moving on as Head of Middle Office for Teather & Greenwood, where he later progressed to Head of Trading Operations. Paul left in 2008 to join Singer Capital Markets, and has been our Head of Operations since.
Emma Weir
Head of Project Management
Emma Weir
Emma joined Singer Capital Markets in 2019 and oversees the firm’s projects (change initiatives) related to business processes, systems and technology ensuring they are successfully executed.
Nick Gilling
General Counsel
Nick Gilling
Nick joined Singer Capital Markets in March 2021 and is responsible for all of the firm’s legal affairs as well as advising on general corporate, securities and regulatory matters. Nick started his legal career in 2007 and has since gained significant private practice and in-house experience covering a wide range of investment banking, corporate finance, regulatory and transactional work.
Nick has a Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Finance) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and is qualified as a Solicitor in both New Zealand and in England and Wales.
Martin Pate
Head of Risk
Martin Pate
Martin joined Singer Capital Markets as Head of Risk in 2018. He has previously held similar roles at Numis and most recently Cenkos.
Our board
Tim Cockroft
Founder & Chair
Tim Cockroft
Prior to his appointment as Chair, Tim served as Chief Executive Officer for 15 years.
Tim began his career in financial markets on the Stock Exchange floor in 1986. He was one of the founding members of Peel Hunt in 1989, and went on to become CEO in 2004.
In 2006, he left Peel Hunt and created Singer Capital Markets which then merged with N+1 Brewin. Tim’s driving ambition is for Singer Capital Markets to be at the forefront of UK plc, providing equity for the growth of the small and mid-cap sector.
Tim went to Wellington College and is married with three daughters. A sports enthusiast in general, he’s particularly keen on cricket, golf, cycling and especially rackets, and was previously Chairman of The Queen’s Club (2014-2018) and is currently Chairman of CPI Enterprises Inv Committe.
Iñigo de Cáceres
Non-Executive Director
Iñigo de Cáceres
Iñigo de Cáceres started his career at Arthur Andersen in the Strategy team of the Business Consulting division. In 2002 he moved to Diageo, in its Madrid office, as Decision Support Manager and member of the Southern Europe Strategy team. In 2006 he joined Alantra, where, as partner, is in charge of the corporate services, and serves as non-executive director in the board of N1Singer (UK). He has a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Comercial de Deusto (Spain) and a degree in Geography and History from Uned (Spain).
Henry Chaplin
Non-Executive Director
Henry Chaplin
Henry was the Chairman of Singer Capital Markets before the merger with N+1 Brewin in 2012. He is the Chairman and founder of NCM Fund Services which provides fund administration to funds investing in unlisted assets and is also Chairman of RM Funds, a specialist asset manager with a focus on alternative investments.
Steve Pearce
Chief Executive Officer
Steve Pearce
Steve was appointed CEO in September 2022 having previously served as Head of Investment Banking and Board Director since January 2020.
He has over 20 years’ of experience as a corporate finance adviser to UK listed plc’s and managing investment banking operations providing Corporate Broking, ECM and M&A services.
Prior to joining Singer Capital Markets he spent 12 years at Liberum having been a founding member of its corporate advisory business.
Steve qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC and is a graduate of Durham University.
Commenting on his appointment as Chief Executive:
“I am a passionate believer in capital markets, the growth companies they fund and the role both play in supporting the UK economy. Singer Capital Markets operates at the heart of this ecosystem, it’s a privilege to lead such a talented group of professionals as we strive to build a brilliant business that has a positive impact on the world around us.”