Ex-HSBC banker Westerman and Greek tycoon launch investment firm

* MW&L Capital Partners to target financials, energy, shipping

* Former Goldman bankers partner with shipping magnate Livanos

* Trio to partner with outside investors in due course

By Lawrence White

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Former senior Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) and HSBC banker Matthew Westerman is launching a private investment firm alongside a former colleague and a Greek shipping tycoon, he said on Friday.

Westerman will partner his former Goldman Sachs colleague Julian Metherell and Peter Livanos, who owns Greek shipping company Ceres Hellenic, in a new firm called MW&L Capital Partners (IOB: 0QOQ.IL - news) .

The trio will invest in small-to-medium sized targets based on knowledge built up in their respective careers covering financial services, oil and gas, and shipping, Westerman said.

"We think there is a gap in the market for long-term capital; ours is not '5 year fund money' so we don't have money burning a hole in our pockets and we can afford to be flexible and supportive of management when we see an opportunity,” Westerman told Reuters by phone.

The firm will look to partner with other investors where it makes sense, Westerman said.

Westerman left HSBC in November, just under two years after he was hired from Goldman Sachs with a mandate to shake up the lender's investment banking division and improve performance.

A rare external hire for such a senior role at HSBC, Westerman made sweeping changes after his arrival in February 2016, including cutting dozens of senior bankers and cracking down on staff who did not spend enough time meeting clients.

Metherell was the co-head of Goldman Sachs' British investment banking business when he resigned from the U.S. bank in 2011 to launch Vallares, an investment vehicle focused on the energy sector, with former BP Plc Chief Executive Tony Hayward.

Sky News earlier on Friday reported the launch of the venture, citing an email sent by Westerman to contacts. (Reporting by Lawrence White, ediing by Louise Heavens)