Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, the investment bank where former Edinburgh dealmaker Gordon Neilly is joint chief executive, is to open an office in Edinburgh.

It has raided Shore Capital for a four-strong team, including two highly-regarded healthcare analysts. Dr Brian White and Dr Paul Taylor will focus on building a specialist sector offering for the firm and work closely with the well-established Cantor Fitzgerald healthcare team in the US, the firm said.

Also lured to the new arrival are experienced equity salesmen Richard Sloss and Andrew Keith, who launched the Shore Capital office in 2008 and were both formerly with Deutsche Bank and Teather & Greenwood.

The Edinburgh operation will also be bolstered by energy analyst Adam Forsyth, formerly with Platinum Fund Managers and Shore Capital, who moves from the London office having joined CFE earlier in the year.

Mr Neilly, commented: “I am delighted to announce our expansion to Edinburgh and the arrival of such high calibre individuals. Brian and Paul will lead our efforts in developing a specialist healthcare franchise, in line with our strategy of focusing on core industry sectors where we have deep expertise. They will also benefit from our firm’s strong sector position in the United States. Richard and Andrew bring long-established relationships with institutions and fund managers and will greatly strengthen our sales platform, particularly north of the border. We intend to add further resource to our Edinburgh office in due course, taking advantage of the excellent talent pool there.”

Dr White, a graduate of the University of Glasgow has worked in equity research since 1993. He was a managing director at Deutsche Bank for 10 years and has been Shore Capital’s head of healthcare since 2009. Dr Taylor, at Shore Capital since 2010 , is a former head of business development at Scottish Health Innovations.