Investment bank and asset manager Alantra has entered the shipping arena with recruits for a maritime and offshore team.

George Giannakis and Nicholas Petrakakos will lead the new division as managing partners.

They have strong maritime investment banking experience, having completed more than 35 transactions for more than $1.7bn since 2016, the company said.

Alantra's new team, which includes two other partners, has completed its first three transactions.

The move "represents another example of the firm's commitment to reinforce its breadth of specialised and diverse services", it said.

Alantra, with bases in Madrid, London and Athens, hired 30 professionals in healthcare, technology and property last year.

The shipping desk plans to recruit two more members in the short term.

The team offers a "unique combination" of financial, technical and commercial experience in the maritime sector, consolidating deep investment banking and strong marine engineering backgrounds.

Giannakis and Petrakakos bring more than 20 years of investment banking and capital markets experience across mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital raising focused on the maritime sector.

They joined from New York-headquartered StormHarbour Securities, where Giannakis set up the maritime and property division and Petrakakos co-headed the shipping practice.

Former Lehman Brothers banker Giannakis, based in London, specialises in debt capital markets, equity capital markets and M&A in the maritime and offshore sector with a cumulative transaction size of almost $2bn.

Petrakakos, who has worked for Heidmar and Westport Maritime, focuses on the origination, structuring and execution of complex debt and equity transactions in the same sector. He is based in Dubai.

The aim is to establish a global maritime practice for Alantra across the main shipping hubs in Greece, the Nordic region, Germany and the Middle East.

The partners have close ties with a diversified set of investors globally, including banks, direct lending funds, private equity and sovereign wealth funds.

Miguel Hernandez, chief executive of Alantra Investment Banking, said: "We are pleased to add George and Nicholas and the rest of the team, who bring to the company deep sector specialisation, immediate origination capacity and unique investor access related to shipping."

Giannakis added: "We are thrilled to join Alantra's global platform and entrepreneurial spirit. Alantra's strong geographical footprint in major shipping centres will add great value to our client and investors' portfolio and will help us capitalise significant market opportunities in a fast-changing maritime environment."

As of 30 September, 2021, Alantra had assets under management of €2.3bn ($2.6bn), plus €11.8bn from strategic partnerships.

The company has been contacted for further information.