EC Hambro Rabben & Partners

Hambros Merchant Banking Origins

EC Hambro Rabben & Partners is a boutique Merchant Bank and was established in June 1998 by all the Directors of the Shipping Division of Hambros Bank and The Hon. Clare E. Hambro, following the acquisition of Hambros Bank by Societe Generale. The Company is a continuation of family merchant banking traditions going back over 200 years and the longstanding shipping and offshore corporate finance activities undertaken by the Directors whilst at Hambros Bank and NatWest Equity Capital Markets.

All Directors have been actively involved with shipping and offshore corporate finance over the past 15 years, with a track record totalling more than USD9billion in enterprise value. Since 1998, they have completed a wide range of transactions totalling over USD 2.7 billion in enterprise value.

People and Background

EC Hambro Rabben & Partners has five full-time Directors and one non-executive Director, who are also the sole shareholders of the company. Unusually, they do not pay regular salaries or fringe benefits, have no secretaries and have outsourced their support functions. Having fun and completing transactions are two prerequisits for working in the company.

Eivind Rabben, John Cook, Richard Trythall and Erik Mathiesen transferred from Hambros Bank while Peter Donald joined at the date of the establishment, having previously been Head of NatWest Equity Capital Markets. Petter Hagland joined the firm following his Cambridge University Degree in 2004. In August 2006, Kristine Tveteraas became the latest recruit after finishing her Economics Degree from the Oslo University (BI).

The Hon Clare Hambro

Clare E Hambro, who also spent several years with Hambros Bank and subsequently the UK Panel on Takeover and Mergers, is a shareholder and a non-Executive Director. She is married to Eivind Rabben and is a direct descendant of C.J. Hambro(Baron Hambro), the Danish founder of Hambros Bank. Her late father Lord Hambro (Charles Hambro) was the final family Chairman of Hambros PLC prior to its sale in 1998.