We’ve always believed that the first step to building wealth is building relationships.

Here at Brown Shipley, a Quintet Private Bank, we have over 200 years of experience working as investment specialists, ensuring our clients are supported with their wealth management. From this, we have the expertise and values that make us perfectly placed to adapt our service to meet your needs and objectives over time. Which is one of the many reasons many of our clients have trusted us for generations.

Our Approach

Personal

We create a personalised service based on our deep understanding of what our clients want to achieve. Together, we can help you thrive. For a richer life.

Boutique

Here at Brown Shipley, we take the time to understand our clients and their goals, extending to both investment expertise and long-term wealth planning. This allows us to support your financial objectives for the long term.

Comprehensive

Our investment specialists are able to support assets and liabilities management across generations, through to business and private interests, whilst building banking relationships.

Sustainable

Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. We believe a sustainable investment approach has a positive impact on the world and on your portfolio. That's why we place sustainability at the core of your investment approach, not as an opt-in or after thought.

Partner

At Brown Shipley, we are your partner. We focus on providing the best solutions for you and offer uncompromised advice with aligned objectives using a transparent and fair pricing model. This means we can concentrate on suitable solutions for you, not on fees.

Experience

Our experience has shown us that active asset allocation combined with open architecture and a tight manager selection is the course of action to adopt to help you meet your investment objectives.

Our Investment Specialists

Our team of highly experienced Client Advisors and Investment Specialists are our most important assets. Our diverse team have a range of backgrounds with many years of experience, each bringing their unique skill sets and expertise to support you with your investment approach.

Our people

Quintet in numbers.

Being part of Quintet expands our scale, security and adds a truly global outlook to our already strong foundations. Together, we form a boutique of private banks and wealth managers operating across 50 European cities, which together manage over €81.5bn of assets (as at 31 December 2020).

360

EMPLOYEES

80

CLIENT ADVISORS

8

OFFICES ACROSS THE UK

Quintet in numbers.

2000

EMPLOYEES

400

PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

200

INVESTMENT SPECIALISTS

50

CITIES ACROSS EUROPE

THE BROWN SHIPLEY JOURNEY.

1800s

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

1900s

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

2000s

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our Services

Wealth Planning

Our team will help you create a wealth plan that is specifically tailored to your personal and financial goals, both now and in the future.

Investment Management

Here at Brown Shipley, we understand that it’s not just where you invest your money. We know that it’s about you; your current situation, future objectives, your risk appetite, your experience of investing and your desired level of involvement.

Lending

Integrating seamlessly with our wealth management services, we offer well thought out and flexible lending solutions to help you with the delivery of your wealth plan.

Explore more

We work in a team of highly experienced Client Advisors and Investment Specialists at Brown Shipley, all with a true commitment towards taking the best course of action for our clients and their families. You can see this through the long-lasting relationships we have with the individuals and families we serve. Get to know our market and segment heads, all of whom work with dedicated teams of seasoned professionals.

At Brown Shipley, we set a new standard in private banking by combining a highly personalised approach tailored to your needs. Our highly experienced investment specialists and client advisors help you achieve your goals through an innovative investment solution tailored to your individual requirements. Together, the private banks that form the Quintet Private Bank employ more than 400 private bankers, 200 investment specialists, and have a presence in 50 locations across Europe.

Our Services

Counterpoint

Sustainability-matters

Our dedication to long-term relationships extends to our association with select corporate partners.

Official Wealth Management Partner of Connect Yorkshire.

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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