St James’s Place boss takes leap to Weatherbys Bank
THE boss of wealth management giant St James’s Place (SJP) is to be named the chairman of horse racing-focused Weatherbys Bank as he prepares to step down from the FTSE 100 group.
David Bellamy, who joined SJP in 1991 and has been in charge of the £85bn business for over a decade, is to become the first person to take on the chairman job outside of the Weatherbys family.
The business, which was founded in the late 18th century to hold money for horse racing clients and now targets multimillionaires, is currently led by chief executive Roger Weatherby and his brother Johnny Weatherby, the chairman who Mr Bellamy will replace.
The seventh generation of family to run the business, the pair made clear earlier this year that they wanted to double the firm’s client base and profits over the next five years by attracting more millionaire entrepreneurs. They are expected to announce Mr Bellamy’s appointment today.
A City veteran, the SJP chief’s move has emerged a week after he told The Daily Telegraph he was “not ready to retire, frankly”.
The 64-year-old will continue to spend two days a week advising SJP.