LUCKY 13 FOR NEW FACE CHARTERHOUSE

The top stockbroker tables have been increased this quarter to 13 to allow for the inclusion of Charterhouse Securities, which has faired exceptionally well in all four leagues.

Despite their pole positions in the client number table, neither Cazenove nor Warburg Dillon Read have much to boast about. Although still out in front, Cazenove has slipped two points (to 214.5 clients) and Warburgs has faired worse slipping to 153. Caz has lost its share in Waddington the take-over victim, while Warburgs downturn can be attributed, in part, to losing its stake in BTP (acquired by Clariant AG).

Storming into eighth place is Charterhouse Securities. It has been just outside the premier league for what seemed an eternity ­ so why the leap to 77 clients this quarter? The answer lies in its acquisition of Sutherland's and its associated client base.

So who are Charterhouses' clients? It has 9.5 AIM-listed clients, it jointly advises 24 clients and its books include companies such as Barratt Developments, Prism Rail, Iceland and Trinity Mirror. In March it was appointed to MDIS Group (instead of Collins Stewart) and SFI (in place of Beeson Gregory and Henry Cooke). It looks as if Charterhouse could feature large in our ranking tables for some time to come!

Elsewhere, Hoare Govett moved up to fourth after its joint appointment to new FTSE 100 Internet company thus (with Investec Henderson Crosthwaite). Beeson Gregory maintained its 11th place with a strong showing, up 8.5 points. These figures include new floats Vianet Group and Argonaut Games.

It was an excellent quarter for the top brokers in terms of client profits. Charterhouse shot straight into tenth place the only real cause of change. Only two firms actually showed a downturn in figures. The 13 brokers returned figures up almost £2.5bn on three months ago. Star performers include Credit Suisse First Boston (up £683.2m) helped by its new share of the Severn Trent account (with HSBC). Merrill Lynch was also buoyed by its joint appointment (with Hoare Govett) by Rolls Royce, which added £325m to its figures.

In the two growth tables HSBC triumphed again, its well out in front, in the fastest earnings table and second in terms of client pretax growth. Further down the leagues Dresdner Kleinwort Benson moved sharply up and is now showing positive figures in both lists. Going in the opposite direction was Warburg Dillon Read, mirroring its downturn in the most client table.

Will the next three months see a further consolidation of the leagues, with more take-overs a possibility?