About us
Barratt & Cooke is an incorporated company which has been providing traditional stockbroking advice for over 120 years. Situated in the heart of Norwich, we have approximately £1bn under management and, although we have clients from all over the country, the majority originate from Norfolk and East Anglia which has taught us the importance of providing a personal service.
We focus on providing bespoke advice whereby we tailor individual portfolios to the requirement of each client. Indeed, in order to meet your objectives, whether your priority is for growth, income, or capital preservation, our experienced team of investment managers construct balanced, diversified portfolios primarily consisting of quality ‘blue-chip’ equity for the long term.
Our Team:
We have a team of investment managers who, with over 170 years combined experience, have a wealth of expertise and knowledge.
Our History:
Since our inception in 1880, with Legh Barratt quite literally holding a quill pen and copper plate handwriting, financial markets have evolved considerably. From the “Old Boy Stock Exchange network” to today’s sophisticated global financial markets we have remained a proud, traditional and independent family stockbroking firm.
Below is a brief synopsis of stockmarket events since 1880. In order to remain independent, Barratt and Cooke has had to ride the turbulence of world stockmarkets and global events. We have learnt from past experiences, indeed Charles Barratt states in his October 2008 Newsletter (which was written in the eye of the World Banking Crisis and Credit Crunch):
“The Younger team are maturing with the ‘experienced old’. Like Dad (John Barratt) in 1928/1929, me in 1970/1974, the present young coming through are having the experience of a lifetime. I have no doubt that those experiences in 1928/1929 and in 1970/1974 had a profound effect and influence on my father and then me.
The experiences of 2008 will be engraved on the present team’s hearts, like Calais being engraved on the heart of Queen Mary - they will never forget the importance of:
Cash
Gilt
A spread of quality Equity”.
It is at times like the ‘Global Banking Crisis’ that one is thankful for past experiences from which we have learnt.
| 1880 | Legh Barratt starts stockbroking in Norwich |
| 1890 | Barings Bank suffers a liquidity crisis and has to be rescued by the Bank of England |
| 1914 | Panama Canal is opened and hence helps facilitate a ‘global market place’ |
| 1914-1918 | First World war causes Government borrowings to dramatically increase |
| 1920’s | New York becomes a financial centre |
| 1929 | Wall Street Crash followed by the Great Depression (many UK shares halve in value) |
| 1939-1945 | Second World War (substantial damage to the City of London) |
| 1950’s | Booms and slumps of the commodity and currency markets |
| 1960’s | Booms and slumps of mining industry |
| 1973 | Oil price quadruples, stockmarkets rally |
| 1973-1974 | Stockmarket falls considerably fuelling the launch of a ‘lifeboat fund’ by the Bank of England to rescue insolvent secondary banks |
| 1975 | UK inflation stands at a staggering 26% |
| 1979 | Margaret Thatcher and the new Conservative Government strive towards a ‘free market’ |
| 1982 | Formation of LIFFE the London derivatives market |
| 1986 | ‘Big Bang’- the deregulation of the financial industry, and the movement from the Stock Exchange floor to screen and telephone based dealing mechanisms |
| 1980’s | Boom in privatisation issues (British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways,) as the British public share in the profits of the companies / services they use |
| 1987 | Black Monday - stock markets crash, compounded by traders taking speculative positions on the weakening sterling |
| 1995 | Barings bank ‘bankrupted’ by a rogue trader |
| 1995 | London Stock Exchange opens AIM the Alternative Investment Market (targeted at smaller developing companies) |
| 1999 | Stockmarkets reach record ‘highs’ – the effect of the momentum behind the dot.com boom |
| 2003 | The bottom of the ‘trough’ following the dot com bubble bursting and a deceleration in merger and acquisition activity |
| 2004-2007 | Company profits grow, takeover and merger activity increases, sophisticated financial products and gearing magnify gains and the market peaks at 6751 |
| 2007 | House prices start to slump, and mortgage banks ‘feel the brunt’ |
| 2008 | Market falls on the back of a Global Banking Crisis as liquidity between major Global Investment Banks dries up |
| 2009 | The FTSE 100 reaches a low of 3460 before rallying strongly during the summer months (bank base rates reach their all time low at 0.5%) |
Key dates for Barratt & Cooke:
| 1880 | Legh Barratt starts Stockbroking in Norwich |
| 1914 | Legh Barratt heads off to the 1st World War leaving his chief Clerk (Arthur Cooke) in charge of the business (hence Barratt & Cooke) |
| 1928 | John Barratt joins the family firm |
| 1939 | John Barratt joins the Allied Forces (is captured and held Prisoner of War) before being ‘saved by the atomic bomb’ and returning home |
| 1967 | Charles Barratt follows in his father’s footsteps becoming the 3rd generation of Barratt in the business, soon to become the youngest Stock Exchange member |
| 1986 | Barratt & Cooke embrace Big Bang and dealing through screens |
| 1986 | Barratt & Cooke open the Share Shop - enabling the people of Norwich to freely partake in the ownership of stocks and shares particularly through privatisation issues |
| 2002 | Barratt & Cooke start Discretionary dealing for clients |
| 2002 | John Barratt dies after a life devoted to his family, his comrades from the 2nd World War and the stockbroking industry |
| 2005 | Barratt & Cooke incorporates from a private partnership to a Limited Company |
| 2007 | The 4th generation of Barratt, William, joins the business having worked in a stockbroking firm in London for 5 years |
| 2008 | A team of Associate Directors is formed, chaired by William to look at the future of the business |
| 2009 | Sam Barratt joins Barratt & Cooke having worked in London, at UBS and Close Brothers, for over 4 years |
Barratt & Cooke intend to remain an efficient, loyal and competitive firm into the future, continuing to place an emphasis on providing a high quality and approachable service to our clients, hence our motto:
“If you give a service, you will have a business.
If you do not give a service, you do not deserve a business!”