Killik & Co's Paul Kavanagh, Kareem Khouri and John Prior are officially launching Patronus Partners.

Three former partners at private client stockbroker Killik & Co have received regulatory approval to launch a London-based wealth management and stockbroking firm called Patronus Partners.

Paul Kavanagh, Kareem Khouri and John Prior initially set up the business in January as chief executive, chief operating officer and chief investment officer respectively, having worked together for almost 20 years at Killik, where they established the capital division.

The trio left Killik after it decided to restructure and focus on its core private client business.

Kavanagh, who has spent most of his career in the stockbroking industry, previously spent five years writing for the Sunday Times Money section. Khouri joined Killik back in 1995 from Fidelity and built up the firm's private client team. Prior joined Kavanagh’s team in 1999 and helped shape Killik's managed futures strategy, which now continues under the management of Patronus.

Patronus's offering will also include advisory stockbroking, advisory derivatives and investment management.