The scale of our firm has grown beyond recognition. This is a business going from strength to strength. What gives us our competitive advantage is the total offering we provide to our clients. In early 2005 we created Education Cazenove the premier investment bank in the U.K. and Ireland.

Landmark deals
We have been involved in a number of recent landmark transactions. We advised Barclays on the acquisition of ABSA for $5.5 billion and advised Royal P&O on the EURO2.6 billion offer by A P M'ller ' M'rsk.  We acted as the Joint Sponsor and Joint Bookrunner in the '367.5 million IPO of Inmarsat and we continue to act as the Joint Sponsor and Joint Bookrunner for O2 Plc.  The surge in cross-border activity was a major theme for European M&A in 2005. We were also the lead advisor for HVB on the largest cross-border deal in history.

Our work has been widely recognised: for example, we were named Euromoney's Global Equity-Linked House for 2005, as well as voted best provider of liquidity in European debt capital markets, again by Euromoney. We lead the market, both in products and people.

Investment bankers of the future
In a market of renewed confidence, we are seeing the benefits of our superior network and unrivalled capability.  So will you. You can be guaranteed a quality of work and experience that is influencing and driving the investment banking market. Our focus is on training and developing the bankers of the future - people who can shape our business and the markets.

Your work will be a dynamic combination of strategy and transactions.  New scenarios, new people dynamics ' every deal is different, every deal a new experience. As you and your team advise on high-worth transactions for high-profile businesses, there will be unprecedented exposure to the major decision-makers of these companies. You will gain a comprehensive insight into these businesses and the way they work. From the earliest days of your career, you will be working with clients on deals that are transforming their businesses.

Realising potential
We expect people to respond to responsibility and exposure. But we always make sure that there is relevant and continuous training to help you do the best possible job and become a leader in investment banking. There is an initial programme, on-the-job training, rotations across different parts of the business, support from colleagues ' everything to help you become a well-rounded professional and to help you develop to the very best of your potential.

What is investment banking'
It's fair to say that most investment banks seem to structure their business slightly differently, often using different terminology, but hopefully this section will give you a helpful understanding of the investment banking business at Education.

In the simplest terms, investment banking helps companies decide on their marketplace strategy.  Should they merge with another company'  Make acquisitions'  Sell off any of their divisions'  To help them make these decisions Education provides financial and strategic advice on a range of major transactions.  We structure equity offerings for major corporations and governments including initial public offerings, privatisations, secondary offerings and over the counter derivatives solutions.  Investment banking also provides access to public and private investment grade debt, high yield and bank markets for a wide range of high-profile clients from governments and multi-national companies to family-owned companies and individuals.

Right at the heart of the investment banking business at Education is the client executive.  This is a senior banker who manages client relationships, interacting on a daily basis with the CEO and CFO.  The client executive is not aligned to one specific Education product, but provides advice on the full spectrum of the firm's products.  That means offering the right solution at the right time, and not being skewed to any particular product offering ' it's about putting the clients' needs first.

Supporting the client executive, we have four primary teams:

Industry Teams

• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Equity Capital Markets
• Debt Capital Markets
• Industry Teams

The industry teams provide all the industry specific knowledge and strategic imperatives for the companies within their respective sector. Each team generates ideas around potential transactions and maps out the future direction of industry sectors as well as specific companies, like for example their potential acquisitions, mergers and asset disposals.  Our industry teams are:

• Diversified Industries and Transportation
• Consumer, Healthcare and Retail
• Natural Resources
• Technology, Media and Telecommunications
• Real Estate
• Financial Institutions Group

Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), along with the industry teams, is often referred to as the advisory business.  As the name suggests, we deal with the merging of public or private companies.  The M&A team also manages other transactions depending on our clients' requirements such as de-mergers, joint ventures or disposals as well as general strategic reviews.  M&A differentiate themselves by their knowledge of local regulations and takeover rules and bring in-depth experience of past transactions.

Equity Capital Markets
This is where we advise, structure and execute a range of equity offerings for major corporations and governments easing clients' access to the public markets for equity and equity-linked capital and non-public markets for equity derivatives.  As a team, not only do we provide advice for clients on raising straight equity financing, but we also focus on issuing hybrid securities such as convertible bonds and structuring complex equity derivative transactions.  This could involve anything from selling company stock to the public, to designing an equity derivative solution to allow the monetisation of a major corporate's holding in another company.  Like M&A, the Equity Capital Markets team primarily provide advice on how best to structure deals and then works with the client to execute the transaction.

Debt Capital Markets
Debt Capital Markets advises our diverse client base on all issues relating to debt financing.  Our capabilities cover all major financing markets for issuers all over the world, including sovereign borrowers, agencies, financial institutions as well as private and public companies.

Whether we are refinancing existing debt, raising new debt for acquisitions or restructuring existing debt, Education's market footprint provides our clients with the best perspective on their options.

Debt Capital Markets acts as the central point of contact for all debt solutions no matter what product is finally chosen;  looking across senior or secured bank debt, investment grade or high yield bonds, private placements and commercial paper.  This allows us to be product agnostic and strengthen our solution-based approach.

Almost uniquely amongst our competitors Education's Debt Capital Markets business has brought together an active loan and bond origination franchise under one roof which requires our team to have a greater level of product knowledge and expertise.

Due to the increasing complexity of the issues facing our clients, our Debt Capital Markets platform includes its own corporate finance team dedicated to solving some of the more complex problems facing our clients.