Andy Currie spends a lot of time worrying about the battle for top dealmakers. The UK head at mid-market investment bank Alantra has been on an aggressive hiring spree over the past year and is always looking for ways to stand out from larger competitors to attract talent.

His latest proposal to the bank’s board is a plan to offer all staff eight weeks' holiday. While it has yet to be agreed, the scheme would be unusually generous. He also believes it would be more effective than the so-called 'unlimited vacation' programmes rolled out by the likes of Goldman Sachs and FinnCap.