Independent investment bank Houlihan Lokey has made a major push into covering the business services sector with the addition of 14 dealmakers as the US-headquartered firm continues its European expansion.

The bank has named James Ireland as a managing director within its business services division, poaching him from RBC Capital Markets, where he was European head of the sector. Meanwhile, Guy Mullin-Henderson joins as a senior adviser to Houlihan's business services team, also coming from RBC Capital Markets, and James Sutch has been hired from the Canadian bank as a director, it said in a statement.