A tiny 3-partner boutique scored a key role on Comcast’s huge £22 billion Sky bid

• Three-partner boutique Robey Warshaw scored a mandate on Comcast’s £22 billion offer for Sky.
• The firm’s profits were up by around 75% last year after bagging roles on series of huge takeover deals.

LONDON – Life is busy for the three partners and 13 employees at London boutique Robey Warshaw.

The tiny advisory firm, founded just four years ago by former Morgan Stanley and UBS bankers Sir Simon Robey and Simon Warshaw, has landed a series of huge deals in recent years. The latest is a role advising Comcast on its surprise £22 billion ($30.7 billion) bid for Sky.

Comcast announced its bid on Tuesday, offering £12.50 per share for the company. Investment banks Evercore and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are working on the deal alongside Robey Warshaw. Comcast’s bid represents a premium of £1.45 on Monday’s closing price for Sky shares and a 16% premium on the current offer from Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

Robey Warshaw’s role on the offer suggests 2018 could be another bumper year for the Mayfair-based partnership. The firm brought in £72.7 million in revenue in the year ended March 31, 2017, an increase of around 70% on the previous year, after scoring roles on a series of huge takeover deals. The firm advised Reckitt Benckiser on its $17 billion offer for baby-formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition, among others.

The performance translated to huge sums for employees.The firm paid out £8.9 million in salaries to its 13 staff members last year, giving an average pay packet of £684,000. Meanwhile, the three partners do not draw salaries but instead take a slice of the profits.

The highest earner took home £37.3 million last year, according to accounts filed in January, which is more than the firm’s total profit of £36.6 million in 2016. The partners shared a total profit pool of £63.3 million ($85.2 million) last year.