Lehman's mergers ace quits

JOHN McIntyre, head of UK mergers and acquisitions at Lehman Brothers, the fifth-biggest US investment bank, has suddenly quit. He had worked for the bank for six years.

Lehman gave no reason for his sudden departure and declined to comment on whether a replacement has been named.

Last year Lehman was ranked ninth in advising on mergers and acquisitions for British companies and made profits of £1.25bn.

McIntyre's exit comes as a surprise because Lehman continues to be active in high-profile City deals. Only last week InterContinental Hotels Group revealed it had sold most of its UK assets for £1bn to LRG Acquisition, a consortium led by Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners.

McIntyre's halo could have slipped after Lehman last year failed to buy top UK stockbroker Cazenove, losing out to US rival JP Morgan. McIntyre also failed to find a buyer for Minerva. He was hired to advise on the sale of the property developer but after six months the company ended talks with potential buyers in January, saying the bids it received were too low.

Meanwhile, Lehman has dropped out of the auction for the British fund management arm of Deutsche Bank.