Triple crown for Warburg analysts

SG Warburg is still the City's top merchant bank for research and corporate finance advice regardless of uncertainties over its future, an authoritative survey published yesterday says.

Warburg won a "triple crown" when its team of analysts was voted top for research by the UK's main companies for the fourth year in a row. The bank tops the tables as best stockbroker for corporate finance advice in relation to the equity markets, pushing the traditional favourite, Cazenove, into second place. It was also voted best merchant/investment bank for corporate finance expertise.

James Capel, the winner in the research stakes for three consecutive years in 1987-89, failed to appear in the top two for the first time since 1985. It dropped to fourth overall.

Meanwhile, Kleinwort Benson's analysts moved up one place to second place, a position last held in 1989, whilst BZW, winner in 1990, was up from seventh to third.

The 11th Annual Broker Survey by Consensus Research International, published in Securities & Investment Review, was based on the views of finance directors and corporate treasurers in the UK's largest publicly quoted companies.

Among the individual sector winners, BZW's Philip Gibbs is the first analyst to top two sectors - banks and other financials. Henderson Crosthwaite's David Lang is voted top analyst in food manufacturing for the ninth year in a row, but shares his place this year with Warburg's Mark Duffy.

The other longest-standing sector winner is Dr Charles Lambert of Smith New Court, top rated analyst by chemicals companies for the sixth year running.

The companies that took part in the survey said they were well served by the City in corporate finance advice and research.