Ausaf Abbas has a wonderful view of some of London's finest buildings from his corner office at Merrill Lynch. Pointing out the places of interest to wealthy clients gives Abbas the opportunity to put them at their ease. Which is just as well, given he heads Merrill's private client division outside the US.

Abbas also likes his team's London headquarters because it is part of the complex on Newgate Street that houses Merrill's investment bankers. He said: "We used to have a West End address but I wanted us to move here to be near our bankers. We want as many client referrals as possible from them and we pay bankers a bonus to get them."