Blackstone Scales Up Its London Staff

According to Blackstone Inc.’s chief operating officer in the region, the company nearly increased its London headcount to 500 people during the Covid-19 outbreak as it expects Europe will continue to generate investment opportunities.

In an interview, Farhad Karim noted, “We are at an inflection point of tremendous growth in the business.” Since March 2020, the firm has hired roughly 200 workers in London, and it is also expanding in Paris, Frankfurt, and other European cities.

The hiring frenzy comes at a time when buyout firms can afford to pay a premium to entice dealmakers away from investment banks.

For the year 2021, Blackstone, Apollo Global Management Inc., Ares Management Corp., Carlyle Group Inc., and KKR & Co. paid an average salary per employee of little over $2 million. In comparison, the average salary at the five largest investment banks in the United States was $232,000 per year.