Recruit for Alsops ups MBO stake

David Raff has jumped ship as head of corporate and commercial at West End firm Winward Fearon and joined the management buy-out team at Alsop Wilkinson under the command of Peter Wayte.

Recruiting Raff is a major coup for Alsops, which has been looking to strengthen its MBO team whose triumphs include the buy-outs of Golden Wonder Crisps, Great Western Railways and Millets Leisure.

Raff, who joins the London office, said: "The opportunity of joining one of the leading MBO firms was difficult to resist. I look forward to being part of a well-established team focused on venture capital."

Alsops' MBO department boasts six partners and 12 assistants and acts in a range of deals for both management, venture capitalists and lending institutions.

The firm is currently undergoing an operational review put in place by new chief executive Christopher Honeyman Brown, previously a partner at accountancy firm Binder Hamlyn.

Brown is eager for the practice to concentrate on the areas where it has already built up a reputation, such as banking, corporate finance and insolvency.