Plurimi Capital, the London-based firm which specialises in ultra high net worth clients and institutions, has appointed Mahmoud Bakr as a director covering the Middle East, WealthBriefing has learnt.

Mr Bakr was formerly a director on UBS’s Saudi desk and his departure from the Swiss giant was exclusively revealed by this publication earlier in the month.

It would seem that Plurimi Capital is engaged in an aggressive recruitment campaign, Mr Bakr’s appointment closely following that of two Russian specialist private bankers from Standard Bank.

The defection of Sharon Thomas and Patrick Chalmers, who specialise in Russia and CIS clients, to Plurimi Capital was reported just over a week ago.

Plurimi Capital was set up by Ramzy Rasamny, ex-managing director and head of the Middle East team at Credit Suisse, and Francis Menassa the senior member of his team at Credit Suisse.  The pair were later joined by Alfred Shukry, the former head of Barclays Wealth’s Middle East business in London.

Plurimi Capital is believed to currently have $4.8 billion in assets under management.