A parent entity of the secretive London-based quantitative trading firm G-Research has disclosed a colossal wage bill of £106 million paid to just 49 staff members over an eight-month period, according to newly filed accounts.
Record-Breaking Pay at Braunford LLP
The figures were posted by Braunford LLP, a company incorporated last year for "the provision of staff and agent services" which operates from the same Oxford Street-adjacent address as G-Research. This represents the partnership's inaugural set of accounts filed with Companies House.
The accounts indicate an average payout per employee of approximately £2.2 million for the eight months covered. This implies an annualised average pay packet of roughly £3.2 million per head.
The Structure and Figures Behind the Firm
Braunford LLP is structured as a partnership, with two Cayman Islands-based entities acting as its partner owners. The firm is ultimately controlled by British financier Peter du Putron, while G-Research itself is run by Ben Leadsom, the husband of former Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom.
While Braunford's accounts do not detail G-Research's own performance, other entities within the group's corporate structure have posted significant revenues. Island Research reported a turnover of £620 million in 2023, while another called Trenchant made £92 million.
This places G-Research among London's elite quantitative trading houses. For context, rival firm XTX made £1.3 billion in profit earlier this year, with its founder Alex Gerko taking £682m personally. Another, Quadrature Capital, recently posted a profit of £411m.
Legal Battle with Former Employee
The revelation of these enormous pay packets comes as G-Research has been engaged in a legal dispute with a former employee. The firm alleged that ex-staffer Pierre Allain used an iPad to record confidential information regarding the company's secret trading strategies before resigning to move jobs.
G-Research claimed Allain "unlawfully copied the confidential information and trade secrets in order to misuse that information for the benefit of his career," allegations which he denied. The firm's parent, Braunford, had sought a three-year ban on Allain working for a rival and extensive damages for breach of contract.
The parties reached a confidential settlement before the court case was due to begin, bringing the legal battle to a close.
