City Insider: Freshfields' trinity delves into Tesco's profit overstatement

Crack team: Freshfields trinity

It's no surprise that Tesco looked to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to scrutinise how exactly its first-half profits came to be overstated by £250m. The £1bn magic-circle firm - where partners on average take home £1.5m - is the supermarket group's longstanding legal adviser and has guided Tesco through numerous battlegrounds.

Freshfields has fielded a crack team to lead Tesco's investigation. Andrew Austin's background lies squarely within retail - he is one of the partners responsible for maintaining the relationship with Tesco. He also heads Freshfields' LGBT committee and is in charge of trainee recruitment.

Ali Sallaway - one of the few female partners to lead a team - co-heads Freshfields' investigations unit in London. Ms Sallaway has experience in cases of accounting irregularities - in 2009 she was on the team that probed failed subprime lender Cattles.

Ian Taylor is an old hand at advising organisations in high-profile investigations - he advised the Bank of England during the Libor-rigging probe. In court documents filed in a dispute between a former partner and the firm, he was revealed to be one of the Freshfields "superheroes" - a band of elite partners.

Succession blow: Frederic Janbon

Frederic Janbon has a dilemma. For years the London-based head of fixed-income at BNP Paribas - and current chairman of European trade body AFME - was the favourite to be the French group's next investment banking boss. But it was not to be.

Alain Papiasse has moved on and up, but Mr Janbon has been sidelined, losing out to the equities and derivatives chief Yann Gerardin in the promotion process.

Those close to the matter say the choice reflects a growing conservatism at the bank, following its humiliating $9bn fine for sanctions breaches, as well as tough times in the fixed-income market.

Some say Mr Janbon is planning to leave (the offer of a role as an adviser to the expected new chairman Jean Lemierre doesn't appeal, apparently). Where he might go is the topic of speculation. One option, says a friend, is to join his former boss, Michel Peretie, now co-chief executive at merchant banking boutique, RiverRock. Mr Janbon has told colleagues that the rumours are nonsense and that he is fully committed to his old job. City Insider will keep digging.

Zeus beckons: Sir Nigel Knowles

Zeus Capital, a fast-growing boutique investment bank, has tapped DLA Piper managing partner Sir Nigel Knowles as chairman. Both hail from the regions: Sir Nigel is a Yorkshireman, while Zeus has offices in Manchester and Birmingham, as well as London.

The move sees Sir Nigel, who built DLA Piper from a UK regional practice to a global law firm, return to his roots - he started his career as a corporate lawyer specialising in listings and private equity. Zeus has been on a roll this year, raising £900m for flotations in the past 15 months, roughly 40 per cent of IPOs on London's Aim. "Who doesn't like to be associated with success?" Sir Nigel told City Insider.

Mind over matter: Arianna Huffington

JPMorgan Private Bank teamed up with Mindfulness at Work to host an evening of serenity on Thursday. Arianna Huffington addressed a private audience of 100 on why mindfulness - a meditative practice she describes as "the Swiss army knife of medical tools" - is sweeping the corporate world. A respite for bashed-up bankers?

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