CITY high-flyer Nicola Horlick will set up a financial advice service aimed solely at women, she revealed yesterday.

The Wirral-born business-woman will launch Bramdiva, a females-only offshoot of her asset management company, Bramdean.

Ms Horlick, dubbed "superwoman" in the press because of her ability to work and raise five children, insisted the venture would not be sexist against men.

She said: "Take divorce. It's a hugely traumatic event, I know as I have just been through one.

"And then the woman must cope with financial issues when often she has left that side of things to the man before the split."

Ms Horlick, 43, is targeting the growing number of wealthy women.

Statistics reveal women own two thirds of the UK's net liquid assets valued at £670bn.

In addition, female millionaires aged between 18 and 44 outnumber their male counterparts.

Ms Horlick, whose firm has teamed up with UBS wealth management to provide a range of services, said women need the same sound advice as men.

However, she added that differences can arise because women live longer than men and are not as well catered for with pensions.

The former pupil of Birkenhead High School for Girls said: "Bramdiva will cater for women who want to take control of their money and their lifestyles. "And if you are worried about it being too girly, I can tell you that it was one of our male shareholders who came up with the idea."

A spokeswoman for the Equal Opportunities Commission declined to say whether the service would discriminate against men.

Ms Horlick used to run investment management operations for Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale, but abandoned big City business to set up Bramdean, a small advisory boutique based in Knightsbridge.

She first came under the spotlight when she was involved in a public dispute with her former employer, Morgan Grenfell Asset Management.

Her managers at the time suspected that she was planning to take their clients on to a new job and Ms Horlick fought a high-profile campaign to secure her reinstatement.

Her superwoman reputation was further enhanced by her book, Can You Have It All? on her experiences in the City.

In April, she made headlines when she was pistol-whipped outside her west London home by a mugger she refused to give in to.

graham.davies@liverpool.com