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About Brown Shipley, a Quintet Private Bank

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You’re at the heart of everything

We’ve always believed that the first step to building wealth is building relationships. For over 200 years, we've been working with clients like you to understand and support your wealth needs. By getting to know you and your family, we’re perfectly placed to adapt as your needs change over time - just one of the reasons many of our clients have trusted us as their private bank for generations.

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We’re here to help you achieve your financial aspirations, taking into account what truly matters to you.

Get to know us

Discover what you can expect when you partner with Brown Shipley, with an introduction to what we do and how we do it.

Our promise

At Brown Shipley, we aspire to be your trusted partner - one who takes on your financial goals as our own. We listen carefully to get to the heart of your current circumstances and future ambitions, bringing our combined expertise and perspectives together to help you achieve not only your financial goals, but your life goals too.

We understand that the purpose of wealth – today and for future generations, is always deeply personal, and our diverse range of services gives us the ability to help you through the hurdles and opportunities that may come your way.

We consider how we can apply all of our resource to help you with planning for all your aspirations. Regular meetings with your Client Advisor will help us to ensure your bespoke plan is up to date and always ready for whatever challenges and opportunities come along.

Our promise

Family

Part of the family

We believe that success starts with empathy and our experienced Client Advisors will listen to your requirements and help you undertake your financial planning for your wealth needs - both in the short term and long term.

Our boutique size is a strength, making us both agile and stable. Brown Shipley is part of Quintet Private Bank (Europe), a group of boutique private banks and wealth managers operating across over 33 European cities. As part of the Quintet family, we have access to greater scale and security, benefiting from a truly global outlook to our already strong foundations. We’re here to help you achieve your financial aspirations taking into account what truly matters to you.

Partner with us

Whether you’re looking for help with Wealth Planning, Investment Management, or Lending, we’re here to help you find the right solutions. Let’s talk.

To receive advice and to become a client of Brown Shipley, you must have a minimum of £1m of investable assets.

Yesterday and today

Brown Shipley, a Quintet Private Bank, was founded in 1810 in Liverpool. Our heritage, which dates back more than 200 years, has its roots in providing financing to shipping merchants. Some of the viewpoints and values of those times are different to those currently held by Brown Shipley and Quintet. Today, Quintet has a diverse and inclusive culture, with employees representing more than 70 nationalities. We are committed to continually improving diversity in all ways across our business and our industry

We are focused on the sustained development of our business as a client-centric organisation where diversity is a source of strength. At the same time, we recognise where we come from; we learn from the past to improve our business for the future.

What makes Brown Shipley different

Brown Shipley have been working with clients like you for over 200 years, offering a full range of Wealth Planning, Investment, Management and Lending Services. As your trusted partner, we support your ambitions and take on your financial goals as our own. 

Time with you

We dedicate time to building a relationship with you; beyond wealth. This lets us understand your needs so we can create a plan tailored to your objectives.

Proximity

With offices across the UK, we’re closer to you. We’re able to tailor our services locally to provide a service that’s personal to you and how you want to work with us.

Heritage

We offer strong foundations and deep expertise which is complemented by the global outlook of our parent company, Quintet Private Bank (Europe).

BROWN SHIPLEY IN NUMBERS

 

Employees

 

Client advisors

 

Offices across the UK

QUINTET IN NUMBERS

 

Employees

 

Professional advisers

 

Investment specialists

 

Cities across Europe

The Brown Shipley Journey

With over 200 years of heritage, we’ve inherited a wealth of experience that we both appreciate and have learned from. In our beginnings the seeds for our values of honesty, integrity and reliability began to grow. Those values have developed through to today, to an organisation that’s dedicated to serving you. And we won’t stop evolving and finding better ways of putting you first.

 

1800's

1800 - 1825
1825 -1836
1837- 1863
1860 - 1863
1863 - 1867

1800 - 1825

The Beginning

Irish merchant Alexander Brown sets up an import-export business in Baltimore, and in 1810 his son William Brown establishes William Brown & Co. in Liverpool.
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1825 -1836

A familiar name appears

William Brown is joined by a new partner, Joseph Shipley. Together, they finance shipping merchants, pioneering payment via ‘Letters of Credit’. The now familiar reputation for honesty, integrity and reliability grows.
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1837- 1863

Big business

The firm, now known as Brown Shipley & Co., reach transactions of £10m a year, while weathering financial instability that causes many other merchants to fail. They expand their shipping interests with their own ships and warehouses.
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1860 - 1863

Changing times

The American Civil War forces a shift in business focus towards merchant banking, which rapidly expands. There is also a physical shift, with London becoming the primary base for Brown Shipley & Co., now renowned for acceptance of credits, foreign exchange and deposit banking. To this day, we remain at the same location, at the heart of the financial world, next to the Bank of England.
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1863 - 1867

Rise to prominence

Sir William Brown becomes appointed High Sheriff of Liverpool, an MP and a campaigner for free trade, the penny post and even decimal coinage. In 1887, partner Sir Mark Collet is appointed Governor of the Bank of England.
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1900's

1900 - 1917
1918 - 1920
1940 - 1949
1950 - 1989
1990 - 2001

1900 - 1917

The US & us

A specialist office is opened to cater for American travellers’ increasing use of the firm’s Letters of Credit, handling up to 350,000 a year.
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1918 - 1920

Family values

In 1918, the partnership between Brown Shipley & Co. and the American Brown Brothers is officially ended, but they continued to work together for some time. In 1920, Lord Norman (Grandson of Sir Mark Collett) is himself appointed Governor of the Bank of England, after following in his Grandfather’s footsteps by becoming a partner in Brown Shipley & Co. Lord Norman remains the longest serving Governor, retiring in 1944.
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1940 - 1949

Big business becomes limited

Despite foreign exchange and commercial credits coming under wartime restriction, Brown Shipley& Co. endures throughout World War II, and in 1946 becomes a Limited Company.
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1950 - 1989

New opportunities

By this time, the company has a prominent role in the London money market and develops an Investment Advisory Service, which provides an outlet for the company’s heritage and expertise in evaluating business deals and the people behind them.
BS History 009

1990 - 2001

New acquisitions

In 1992 Brown Shipley & Co. Ltd is acquired by European bank KBL and joins its group of Private Bankers. At the turn of the millennium, Brown Shipley subsequently makes its own acquisitions of stockbroker Cawood Smithie, private-client investment manager Henry Cooke and in 2001, pensions and investment manager Fairmount Group plc.
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2000's

2010 - 2014
2015 - 2017
2018 - 2019
2019 - 2020
2020 - 2020

2010 - 2014

Celebrating the past, looking to the future

After celebrating our bicentenary in 2010, Brown Shipley expanded to new premises in Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham, complementing the newly refurbished London building, giving the company contemporary homes to match our thoroughly modern outlook.
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2015 - 2017

Stronger together

Three further acquisitions serve to broaden and strengthen our offering: Hampton Dean, a chartered independent firm of financial planners gives us a Nottingham base in 2015; The Roberts Partnership, a financial planning and wealth management firm based in Manchester joins in 2016; while 2017 sees us acquire the UK branch of Insinger de Beaufort.
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2018 - 2019

Continued Growth

As part of Brown Shipley’s continued growth strategy in 2018, Alan Mathewson was appointed as CEO, followed by Rory Tapner being named Chair of the Board in 2019. These key appointments have built upon the strong foundations already in place within Brown Shipley, along with supporting the continued growth of the business. The acquisition of NW Brown, a wealth manager with offices in Cambridge and Norwich, in 2019 gives Brown Shipley a strong base in East Anglia.
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2019 - 2020

Integration

The acquisition of NW Brown, was finalised in April 2020, fully integrating in to Brown Shipley becoming the Cambridge and Norwich offices.
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2020 - 2020

Rebrand

In January 2020 KBL Group rebranded to Quintet Private Bank. Everywhere Quintet operates, including Brown Shipley in the UK, adopted a shared corporate identity, illustrated by five interlocking rings. Inspired by music’s universal appeal and reflecting the group’s partnership approach, the Quintet name is a symbol of the five senses and five fingers on a hand – combining the female number two with the male number three, representing all human beings.
New Project 21

Corporate social responsibility

We challenge the status quo and embrace diverse perspectives. We’re passionate about doing the right thing for our colleagues, clients and community.

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Cambridge University Ladies Netball Club

We are proud sponsors of Cambridge University Ladies Netball Club which is one of the largest and most successful women’s sports clubs at Cambridge University. CULNC is a highly competitive club, promoting enjoyment and success in equal measure.

Our awards

At Brown Shipley we’re committed to becoming one of the UK’s leading private client wealth managers, built on strong, long-term relationships and an unrivalled level of service. It’s an approach that means our people are our most valued asset. So we’re always proud when the industry acknowledges our hard work and expertise.

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Become part of the Brown Shipley story

Want to join the Brown Shipley team? Learn more about what we offer.

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Investing puts your capital at risk. Lending is subject to status.