For years, Simon Robey and Michael Zaoui shared a seventh floor office in Morgan Stanley’s Cabot Square HQ in Canary Wharf as co-heads of the bank’s European mergers and acquisitions business.

Balls frequently flew around the large office as the two dealmakers indulged in their respective passions - Robey was learning golf at the time and had one of those putting machines that return the golf ball when you hit the target. Zaoui, an extrovert who grew up in Italy and France, frequently kicked a football around the room.