Panmure Gordon's chief executive and head of securities have discussed with Financial News the rationale behind their firm's offer this week for the investment banking arm of 223 year-old broker Charles Stanley – and why traditional UK brokers are like nice Victorian houses.

City stockbroker Panmure Gordon, which has been weighing a move for the investment banking division of Charles Stanley for some time, put an offer on the table for the business on Wednesday, not long after Missouri-based Stifel Financial's exclusivity period for its own talks with Charles Stanley ran out.