Barclays Capital, the debt-focused UK investment bank, has strengthened its European leveraged finance business with the hires of Chris Turner and Tim Taylor to senior positions within the group, which is headed by Chris Coles.

Turner has joined Barclays Capital as head of European high yield capital markets and syndicate from Merrill Lynch in New York where he was a managing director in the high yield team. Turner will be based in London, reporting to Coles and to Geert Vinken, head of syndicate.