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http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/04/10/ondra-partners-plots-u-s-push/

Apr 10, 2015
Ondra Partners Plots U.S. Push
By Matt Turner

Ondra Partners, the independent advisory house founded in London in the wake of the financial crisis and named after the Basque term for honor, is deepening its presence in the U.S.

The firm, which was set up in October 2008 by former Lehman Brothers bankers Michael Tory and Benoit D’Angelin and ex-HSBC health-care specialist Michael Baldock, is aiming to win more business in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.

Ondra has in recent weeks added to its U.S. staff. Katherine Wolf, a one-time Bear Stearns and HSBC health-care banker who spent four years as chief financial officer of Nasdaq-listed Vision Sciences, joined this month, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tran Nguyen Duc has joined from Goldman Sachs GS +2.01%, where she worked in the special situations group, while debt specialist Aashish Makkar has joined from UBS UBS +2.18%. Tony Wilde, a veteran of the pharmaceutical sector who was chairman of MedPointe Pharmaceuticals until its $793 million acquisition by Meda in 2007, has also signed on as a senior adviser.

Ondra has long had a presence in the U.S., with Baldock splitting his time between Stamford, Connecticut and the firm’s London office for the first few years of the firm’s existence.

It took the decision last year to move to an office near Grand Central Station in New York and expand its operations in the U.S. Michiel Broker, another healthcare specialist and previously a London-based partner, moved across the Atlantic to join Baldock as part of the plan.

The firm has proven to be highly-profitable since its launch, using a retainer model that differs from that of its advisory rivals. The firm refuses to work on any project without a monthly retainer, with fees connected to transactions considered an add-on. Retainer fees are trending towards making up half of its revenues, according to people familiar with the firm’s financial performance.

The firm’s list of clients is typically kept under wraps, with Ondra only occasionally appearing on deal announcements. It has in the past advised Irish biotechnology company Elan, medical technology company Smith & Nephew , French bank Societe Generale , telecom giant Orange and UK utility National Grid .

The firm posted revenues of £41.8 million for the year to March 31, 2014, up more than 50% year-on-year. It had 10 partners and 33 staff during the period, putting revenue per employee at close to £1 million.

Ondra said in its accounts last set of accounts: “We are pleased with the firm’s financial performance in its fifth full year of operation; we are especially satisfied by the emergence of a wider group of contributing partners, the unstinting dedication of our team and by the continuing confidence our clients place in us each year.”