Where must you work as an M&A banker in Europe if you want to earn good money? There is only really one answer: London.
New salary and bonus figures for vice president (VP) level M&A professionals from Emolument.com, the ‘real time salary data specialist’, confirms that M&A bankers in the UK earn a lot more money than M&A bankers anywhere else in Europe.
London-based M&A VPs are far better paid than their counterparts in Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Ireland or… Belgium. In the case of Belgian M&A bankers, they earn 170% more. In the case of French M&A bankers, they earn 47% more. The closest comparators are M&A VPs in Switzerland, but even they earn an average of £142k compared to the £190k average that Emolument suggests M&A VPs are getting in London.
This might be ok if M&A bankers outside the UK didn’t have to work as hard. However, Paris-based M&A professionals complain they’re driven just as ferociously – if not more so – than any M&A bankers in the City of London. “You work much harder in Paris than London in M&A,” said ex-French banker turned-headhunter Stephane Rambossen when we asked him about Parisian working hours last year. “France is the most competitive M&A market in the world – when I was there we worked until 12 every night and at least one all-nighter,” he added.
Of course, there are living costs. London is an expensive City. – Even London-based bankers on £250k can end up feeling pinched. But estimates suggest that London is only 20% more expensive to live in than Paris and that Zurich is 2% more expensive. Plus, there are French taxes to consider. If you’re going to be overworked in M&A, you might as well do it in the UK.
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