Majedie Asset Management, the UK investment house established last year by four former Merrill Lynch fund managers, has won its first institutional mandate from motor manufacturer Honda.

The European subsidiary of the Japanese car giant has dropped UBS Global Asset Management, which managed Honda's entire scheme in a balanced portfolio for the past eight years, and handed London-based Majedie £11m (€15.6m) to invest in UK equities on behalf of its pension fund.