US investment bank Oppenheimer & Co is planning further growth of its European business after forging a new London-based debt capital markets team – but its chief executive for the region is wary of following other independent firms down the acquisition route as a way of building scale.

Last week, the firm set up a DCM and syndication business in its London office, hiring Scott Beattie as managing director and European head of debt capital markets and syndication, and David Kent as a managing director. Both previously worked at KNG Securities, a fixed-income primary and secondary broker dealer.