Harris Williams is hanging its shingle in London, opening a new office that will be headed by Deutsche Bank veteran Thierry Monjauze. The Richmond, Virginia-based Harris Williams, a unit of the PNC Financial Services Group, intends to fill out the new location with additional senior staff.

The UK affiliate represents Harris Williams' first step overseas, augmenting its six domestic locations. Monjauze previously served as the co-head of Deutsche Bank's European tech investment banking group. He joined Deutsche in 2002, after having founded a software- and services-focused VC fund. Among the successes, he led an investment in TopTier, which was sold to SAP.

Manjauze also put in a stint at Credit Suisse First Boston, overseeing the firm's European software and internet groups.

The hiring reflects a belief from inside the firm that the deal market will improve throughout next year. In a statement, Harris Williams co-founder Chris Williams noted that he anticipates "Europe, in particular, to be an area of opportunity within the middle market."

The tech space, where Manjauze has traditionally focused, has already seen more activity than most sectors. Harris Williams, this year, has overseen the sales of Catalyst Information Technologies and Gateway EDI.

Manjauze, meanwhile, has advised the likes of AOL, eBay, Alcatel, Sony Ericcson, Nokia and Sophos, among others, over the years.



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