Icap coal team jumps ship

Icap’s entire London-based coal team is defecting to rival broker Prebon Energy.

The coal desk – which helped Icap achieve a number-one ranking in European coal in the Energy Risk Rankings 2004 – will add to Prebon’s overall strategy for expansion in energy markets, according to Prebon Energy’s managing director Andrew Polydor.

The team consists of current team head George Dranganoudis, senior broker Dennis Walton and broker Alexander Newman.

“We intend to establish a presence in freight derivatives by leveraging the coal team’s strong position in the market,” Polydor added.

Icap managing director Paul Newman, who heads the UK broker's commoditiy division, was unavailable for comment.