Parliament Street, one of the UK’s leading political think tanks, has appointed financial markets commentator Tim Focas as director of Financial Services and the City of London.

Focas, who joins as part of a merger between Parliament Street and his existing think tank Colloquium, will be responsible for providing research and market commentary on the key issues bridging the City and Westminster. Focas, a regular expert voices columnist at City A.M., will be tasked with providing in-depth research papers on a wide range of challenges facing the City with the world of Westminster.

The move comes as Parliament Street continues its 2017 expansion drive, after recently hosting successful events on the future of Cyber Crime and a Women of Influence conference, which included a speech from Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo.

Commenting on his latest recruit, Patrick Sullivan, CEO and Chairman of Parliament Street said: “As the City starts to get a clearer idea of what post-Brexit Britain looks like, Tim’s proven expertise in financial markets will ensure Parliament Street is at the heart of the debate. His wealth of experience in providing thought provoking analysis across a broad spectrum of outlets makes him the ideal fit for our sector specific approach to influencing the government’s policy agenda.”

Focas added: “Under the stewardship of Mr Sullivan, Parliament Street continues to go from strength to strength. I’m thrilled to be joining the team during this exciting time for UK financial services. The relationship between Westminster and the City has never been more important. Over the coming months, a delicate and pragmatic negotiating balance needs to be stuck to ensure the City continues to remain Europe’s dominant financial centre.”

The appointment of Focas comes ahead of Parliament Streets “Brexit: The Future of the City of London” event, which takes place on Wednesday February 1st. Confirmed penalises for the night include Rt. Hon. John Redwood MP,  Chairman of JML and Labour Leave John Mills, and Daniel Mahoney who is the Head of Economic Research at the Centre for Policy Studies.