Rathbone Investment Management, part of UK-listed Rathbone Brothers, will open an office in Newcastle upon Tyne, on the city’s prestigious Grey Street.

The new office, which will act as a regional hub for clients in the northeastern region of England, will initially be staffed by investment managers James Kyle, James Garbutt, Neil Minto and Christoph Atkins - under the leadership of Newcastle office manager Nick Swales. Rounding out the staff roster is Kirstie McKeown, a chartered financial planner.

In addition, Rathbones will add a further two employees to its Newcastle office to work as administration support staff. 

“We consider the northeast to be an incredibly important area of growth for our business, but in order to be successful we need to offer clients a dedicated on-the-ground presence,” said Andrew Morris, Rathbones’ regional director for the northern region of England.

Rathbones, which has a total of 830 employees, now has 12 offices across the UK. It also plans to open another new office in Lymington within a month.

Funds managed by Rathbone Investment Management totalled £16.71 billion ($26.33 billion) at end-2012.