Getting more shipbroking bums on seats will be key to Braemar Shipping Services' plan to double its profit within four years.
And it is no secret the London-listed group is recruiting.
Chief financial officer Nick Stone told TradeWinds: "It's a bit like Man United needing a new midfielder — you can see it coming in a way".
But the reality of securing signatures on contracts can be complicated.
Following the announcement of the new growth strategy on Wednesday, Stone said "it will be interesting to see what comes out of the woodwork at this stage".
Braemar's bosses are asking "the senior guys" to engage with people they know in the industry to see if they can generate interest in what Stone calls "jumping across".
"We have had a reasonable amount of traction over the last six months," he added.
"It's not always easy to land people, depending on which market they're in. If they're having a very good year and have got big bonuses coming, it's a bit of a game as to when you can bring them across."
Stone said most brokers of any worth will have confidentiality and non-compete obligations in their contracts: "We end up sometimes negotiating with the other party over an early release. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and people have to sit in the garden."
Chief executive James Gundy told TradeWinds that shipbroking is a "relationship business". He also said Braemar has been successful at bringing brokers back to the company after time away.
This is key to giving Braemar the scale it needs to compete globally, according to Stone.
Synergies are a bonus
Big companies such as oil majors, miners and traders want to deal with counterparties that have the scale and breadth of coverage to match their drive on compliance and environmental, social and governance issues.
This reinforces the fact that a bigger business will be better at delivering what the clients need, Stone said.
Getting more institutional investors on board will be vital to achieving this scale.
Cost savings are also an attractive bonus in any acquisitions designed to expand the scope of the business.
Gundy sees Braemar as one of a number of big shipbrokers jostling for second place behind London rival Clarksons in terms of size.
"A clear number two will happen down the line," he said.
"We want to push it forward as a public company" — and part of that is rebuilding confidence among the investment community.
The chief executive said new chairman Nigel Payne, a former gambling company boss, is fully on board with the strategy.
"We hit it off from the outset," Gundy said. "I admire what he's done, his experience. I'm learning a lot from him as a chairman."
Braemar logged net profit of £11.4m ($15.5m) in the six months to 31 August, up from £1.1m in the same period a year earlier, as most shipping markets rebounded from pandemic woes.
