Despite a looming election this year, the duo are not concerned by a possible change in government.
Mr Morse said: “To be fair to Labour, they are making the right noises about being business-friendly. It doesn’t look like there’ll be any sort of seismic shocks in terms of policy which is going to change the outlook.”
Cavendish was formed last March when London-listed brokers finnCap and Cenkos came together in a £21m all-share merger.
The group, which recently reported a £2m operating loss and lower revenues, is not alone in seeking a merger partner during London’s float famine.
Former Barclays bankers Bob Diamond and Rich Ricci recently merged Panmure Gordon broker with Liberum.
Numis also succumbed to a £400m takeover by Deutsche Bank.
These deals are “no bad thing”, according to Mr Morse. He hopes they will shake up the market and leave clients up for grabs.
“We want to have decent competitors and stability in the market. Deutsche and Numis creates a very big opportunity for us because when people merge, they tend to move out of certain markets as well.”
Before giving up independence, Cenkos Securities had a reputation in the City as a hard-driving “eat what you kill” broker where bankers who brought in a deal would get the lion’s share of the fees.
Mr Morse, who joined Cenkos in 2006, said “eat what you kill” was a “misnomer”.
“That didn’t really happen. ‘Eat what you kill’ was sort of true because you can only pay bonuses out of the revenue that has been generated. But it wasn’t as individualistic as that.
“When I took over as CEO [in 2021] there was a far more collegiate way of working because especially when markets are hard you have to act as a team. This is a team sport.”
Under former chief executive Jim Durkin, now retired, Cenkos helped orchestrate IPOs for the likes of AA and British Car Auctions during the private equity boom years.
Situated near London’s former Smithfield meat market close to St Paul’s Cathedral, Cavendish currently has a staff of around 150 people who work across broking for listed clients, debt advisory and private M&A.
In one of its meeting rooms is a reminder of a former client, Pimlico Plumbers. A small blue die-cast toy plumber’s van sits on a tiny plinth.
The toy acts as a symbol of the company’s long-standing relationship with the group’s founder, entrepreneur Charlie Mullins. Mr Farrugia and finnCap helped Mr Mullins sell Pimlico to KKR-backed Neighborly in 2021.
That deal is also a reminder of how far private equity has seeped into Britain’s capital markets landscape.
