Mr Linacre said his firm historically had an asset management business that had undergone several restructurings over the years as Panmure went through a series of ownership changes, which included being owned by Lazard and WestLB.

According to Mr Linacre, the Qataris shared his view that fund management would be a core business for Panmure in the future.

Speaking of his firm’s recently-set-up asset management division in Nyon, near Geneva, Mr Linacre said: "I would not be surprised if in the next couple of years, that ."