Ex Scotiabank Infra Directors Find New Homes

Two former Scotiabank infrastructure bankers are understood to have found new homes, one at advisory firm Rubicon and the other at National Australia Bank’s fast growing infrastructure finance team.

Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors has expanded its London office with the addition of Alexandre du Pasquier, who is understood to have joined the firm from Scotiabank last Monday (04 March).

Pasquier will be an associate director for Rubicon focusing on infrastructure projects, debt advisory, M&A deals and utilities from its London office, which now comprises five staff.

At Rubicon, du Pasquier will be reunited with his former boss John Kirwan, who also left Scotiabank for the advisory firm last July.

Both du Pasquier and Kirwan were working for the Canadian bank’s energy, infrastructure, power and utilities team for five and eight years respectively.

Prior to Scotiabank, du Pasquier also worked at BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Antin Infrastructure.

It is understood that Rubicon’s London office works closely with the firm’s Dublin office, which recently closed the refinancing of two PPPs in Ireland, the N11 Arklow/Rathnew road and the Irish Schools Bundle 3.

In the wake of the slowdown of the UK PPP market, Rubicon’s London office has also expanded into other countries, including the Netherlands, Spain and Greece.

In December 2018, Rubicon advised on the acquisition by infrastructure fund TIIC 2 of a 16.8% stake in Consortio Traza, the company holding 80% of the Zaragoza tram concession in Spain.

It also advised Ferrovial on the sale of its 33.4% stake in Greece’s Nea Odos, its 21.4% stake in Odos Kentrikis Elladas and a 21.4% in Hellas Tolls to Greek developer GEK Terna, last December.

Europe is not the only region that Rubicon is currently looking to expand. Late last year, the company opened an office in Colombian capital Bogota, to complement its existing offices in London, Dublin, New York and Madrid.

Meanwhile, Barry Dale, a former Scotiabank director who left along with du Pasquier, is set to join National Australia Bank in the coming months, it is understood.

Dale, who has been on gardening leave since January, has also worked as an analyst for UBS Investment Bank, manager at PwC and assistant director of project and acquisition finance at Dexia.

It follows another top-tier reshuffle at NAB, which last November appointed former head of the transport and telecoms EMEA project finance team at SMBC Tylor Hartwell to replace David Rawson as head of client coverage and corporate finance for Europe.

Authors: Brendan Malkin and Nick Roumpis

This was published on March 8, 2019.