By Matt Turner

Of FINANCIAL NEWS

LONDON--Ian Hannam, the renowned former JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) deal maker whose private company last year took control of small and mid-cap adviser Strand Partners, has officially joined the firm, according to the Financial Services Register.

Mr. Hannam was last week registered as working at Strand Partners, according to the register, marking the official return to the industry of the former banker who stood down from JP Morgan last year to fight a regulatory fine.

Known as the "king of mining M&A", Mr. Hannam brought numerous natural resources firms to market in London, helping shape the FTSE 100 in the process. Former clients include natural resources companies Kazakhmys PLC (KAZ.LN), Ferroxpo PLC (FXPO.LN), Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN), Bumi PLC (BUMI.LN), Essar Energy PLC (ESSR.LN) and Ophir Energy PLC (OPHR.LN). He was also a key adviser to Mick Davis, the Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) chief executive who even spoke at the banker's leaving drinks from JP Morgan last summer.

However, Mr. Hannam stood down from JP Morgan under a cloud in April last year to fight a 450,000 pound ($685,850) fine levied by the Financial Services Authority for market abuse relating to Heritage Oil PLC (HOIL.LN), an oil and gas exploration company for which Mr. Hannam was lead corporate adviser.

In a personal statement at the time of his resignation, Mr. Hannam said that he strongly believed that the FSA's conclusions were wrong and said he looked forward, "to challenging them in an independent tribunal."

The departure from the U.S. investment bank did not, however, mark his exit from the mining industry. As reported by Financial News in February, Mr. Hannam acquired small and mid-cap adviser Strand Partners through his Elgin Partners vehicle and had approached John Manser, a former chairman of Robert Fleming Holdings, to act as chairman of the newly-launched firm.

According to the Financial Services Register, Mr. Manser joined Strand Partners on Apr. 1 a as non-executive director. Mr. Hannam could not be reached for comment. Mr. Manser did not return messages seeking comment.

The duo join a raft of former JP Morgan colleagues at the firm. Neil Passmore, a former colleague of Mr. Hannam's at JP Morgan, was installed as chief executive following the acquisition. More recent additions included JP Morgan alumni Chris Byrne, Leigh Fogelman, Paloma Mele de Juan and Michael Reynolds - a one-time head of compliance at JP Morgan Cazenove who has joined as a non-executive director.

Mr. Passmore did not return messages seeking comment.

Mr. Hannam sits at the centre of a tight-knit group of former Flemings and JP Morgan bankers who have overlapping interests, spanning a spider's web of mining projects from Central Asia to West Africa. Other names of current or former Flemings and JP Morgan figures involved within this group include Michael Haworth, Lloyd Pengilly and Lord Robin Renwick, who remains a vice-chairman of European investment banking at JP Morgan.

Another connection is Matthew Clarke, a former Flemings banker who founded natural resources adviser Merlin Partners, which has also been adding ex-JP Morgan staff in recent months.

Mr. Clarke is one of three directors of Centar Technical Services (UK), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Centar, a company exploring for gold in Afghanistan established by Mr. Hannam. In December, the office manager at Merlin Partners acted as witness to Mr. Hannam's signature on a written resolution at Strand Partners.

The group of ex-JP Morgan bankers now massing at Merlin Partners includes Rupert Fane, a one-time head of the international equity syndicate at JP Morgan Cazenove, and fellow equity capital markets specialist Alexander Yule-Smith. Cormac McNulty, also from JP Morgan Cazenove, has also joined.

--Write to Matt Turner at matthew.turner@dowjones.com