There is change at the top of the Swiss private bank's operations in the UK.

Julius Baer International Limited, London, part of Julius Baer, has a new boss in the person of David Durlacher, who takes on the chief executive role to replace Adam Horowitz, who is retiring as planned in the wake of integrating the Merrill Lynch International Wealth Management business.

Durlacher takes on the role pending regulatory approval, Julius Baer said in a statement today. He will be responsible for Julius Baer London and Dublin.  Durlacher already manages a “significant part” of the UK business and is a member of the executive committee and director of the board of Julius Baer International Ltd, Julius Baer said.

When the Merrill Lynch International Wealth Management (IWM) UK was acquired by Switzerland-listed Julius Baer in 2013, Durlacher joined the enlarged business.

“His appointment demonstrates the bank’s continuous focus on this market, one of the largest for Julius Baer outside Switzerland,” Gian Rossi, head of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe at Julius Baer, said.

Julius Baer, which describes Asia as its second home market, has been busy making moves to further its international footprint. Last week, TFM Asset Management, a Switzerland and Japan-registered investment house that is majority-owned by Julius Baer, rebranded to Julius Baer Wealth Management. Earlier this month, the group appointed Torsten Linke, a former senior figure at Credit Suisse in Asia, to head up its Southeast Asia business. Around the same time, it created a new investment management division, bringing in Yves Henri Bonzon, a former investment chief from Pictet to lead it.

At the end of October last year, the bank had SFr 297 billion ($293 billion) of assets under management. The bank issues full-year results on 1 February.