Kleinwort Benson
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | 1786 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
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Key people
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Eric Barnett, Chief executive officer |
| Owner | Société Générale |
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Number of employees
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1,000 |
| Website | www |
Coordinates: 51°30′41″N 0°5′0″W / 51.51139°N 0.08333°W
Kleinwort Hambros, formerly Kleinwort Benson, is a leading private bank owned by Société Générale that offers a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. The bank has its headquarters on St George Street in Mayfair in London's West End and has offices in London, Cambridge, Newbury, Leeds, Edinburgh, Guernsey, Jersey and Gibraltar.
Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two very different merchant banks in London. They merged in 1961 to create Kleinwort Benson Lonsdale, later Kleinwort Benson Group. Following its acquisition by Société Générale in 2016, it was merged with SG Hambros to form the current business.
Kleinwort Hambros focuses on private banking, providing a comprehensive range of services for high net worth individuals and corporate clients, managing liquid and illiquid assets including a provision of corporate advice and private office capabilities.
The earliest known Kleinwort to go into banking was 24-year-old Heinrich Kleinwort, a grandfather of Sir Alexander Drake Kleinwort, 1st Baronet. In 1786, Heinrich set up a partnership with Otto Mueller in Holstein to finance trade with England. In the very same year, Robert Benson joined with William Rathbone IV of the existing house of William Rathbone & Co. to form Rathbone & Benson, a Liverpool business trading mainly with America. Over the course of the 19th century, the Benson family grew its wealth through railway finance in Britain, Europe and America. The Kleinworts established a successful trading business in Cuba, profiting from the expansion of the H. Upmann and Sons cigar business.
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Wikipedia