Oriel hires JP Morgan Cazenove banker David Knox as equities chief Since being founded 10 years ago, Oriel, which is named after the Oxford college attended by its founder Andrew Monk, the broker has grown into a serious rival for many of the City's more established names. Mr Monk is no longer with the business, however in recent years Oriel has become one of the leading brokers in the oil and gas sector and is widely recognised to produce some of the most highly-regarded research on the sector. With 135 employees, it is broker to 61 companies with an average market capitalisation of £325m and has worked on more than 80 corporate finance transactions with a combined value of more than £9bn in the past three years. Earlier this year, Oriel was linked to a buyout of Royal Bank of Scotland's Hoare Govett broking business, which was eventually purchased by US investment bank Jefferies.