Nomura Calls Time - Hands Off

The sale, which marks the swansong for Guy Hands as an employee of Nomura, was completed when the businesses were sold for £2bn to a consortium which includes Enterprise Inns.

Enterprise has acquired an option to purchase all the pubs from it's private equity partners in two years.

Hands, who is believed to have made around £2bn in profits for Nomura in the last seven years as head of it's Principal Finance Group, is now leaving the bank to set up his own investment firm, Terra Firma Capital Partners.

Nomura is believed to be an investor in the new business.