Appointment of Head of Mining Research

AIM: MERC

MERCHANT SECURITIES GROUP PLC

("Merchant Securities" or "the Group")

Appointment of Head of Mining Research

Merchant Securities, the financial services group, is pleased to announce the appointment of Kurt Budge as Head of Mining Research within the Research Department at Merchant Securities Limited, the Group's institutional stockbroking and corporate advisory business. The appointment takes immediate effect.

Kurt's career in the mining sector spans almost 20 years and encompasses investment, corporate and operations roles. Kurt joins Merchant Securities from Religare Capital Markets, where he was Director of Mining Research. Prior to this, Kurt was Vice President of Pala Investments AG, a Swiss-based private equity firm focused on the mining sector. 

Between 2009 and 2004, Kurt spent five years with the international mining group Rio Tinto as a Business Development Executive in Rio Tinto's Business Evaluation Department. In this role Kurt was engaged in M&A and asset divestment activities, as well as strategic and financial analysis of investment opportunities. Kurt has worked on organic growth projects at all stages of development, from order of magnitude to feasibility, and has also conducted strategic analyses for market entry into new geographies.

Before joining Rio Tinto, Kurt worked for over seven years in the UK coal industry for RJB Mining (now UK Coal plc), the UK's largest coal mining company. Kurt held a number of senior management positions, including Director of Operations, Director of Mining and Director of Planning within the surface mining division. Kurt managed both owner-operator and contracted operations, and as Director of Planning led the planning team through a significant period of success in permitting new mines.

Kurt holds an M.Eng (Hons) degree in Mining Engineering from The Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London and an MBA from London Business School. He is also a past-President of the Royal School of Mines Association. 

Commenting on the appointment, Chief Executive of Merchant Securities, Patrick Claridge, said,

"I am delighted to welcome Kurt to the team. His extensive background in the mining sector combines in-depth industry knowledge with investment expertise. As we develop Merchant Securities' mining franchise, Kurt's experience and relationships within the mining sector, especially in Africa, will be very valuable."

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Notes to Editors:

Merchant Securities Group plc, which was recently acquired by Sanlam UK Limited, offers a broad range of financial services through its Private Client Wealth Management and Investment Banking Divisions.

The Investment Banking Division provides financial advisory and execution services to both publicly quoted and private companies. Focusing on small and medium sized companies, it offers a full range of services from corporate finance to equity research, sales and trading.

The Private Client Wealth Management Division provides discretionary and advisory wealth management services and financial planning advice to a broad client base, comprising private individuals, small and medium sized businesses, pension funds and charitable trusts. Through both organic growth and recent acquisitions, the Division has developed significantly and it currently holds c. £421 million of assets under advisory management, approximately £80 million of which are under discretionary management.