Established infrastructure banker Geoff Smith has joined Stout UK as London-based managing director and head of debt advisory, joining from the UK Infrastructure Bank which he exited at the end of June (2023).

IJGlobal last month reported on Smith’s impending departure from UKIB and identified all the leading figures at the Leeds-based UK alternative to the European Investment Bank.

Sources close to the organisation say that Smith started in the new role at Stout – the US-headquartered investment bank – on 1 July and an official announcement is expected imminently.

Smith has previously worked with Stout on a consultancy basis and it is understood that he played an active role in the sale of Thames Clippers, the London Riverboat service also known as Uber Boats, during the pandemic.

However, he first got to know Jon Howells – ex-Lazard banker who head Stout UK – when they were on opposite sides of the table some years back to negotiate the sale of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company to the Manx state

Operating out of offices in St James Square, Smith is understood to be charged with building out the debt advisory mandate across Europe.