Schroder Salomon Smith Barney (SSSB) and UBS Warburg led the disposal of music group EMI's £70m (€110m) stake in HMV Group at a third below the flotation price of the book and music retailer just six months ago, highlighting the fall in equity markets over the period.

The two banks were joint global co-ordinators, bookrunners and sponsors of HMV Group's £536.8m flotation on May 15. At the time the FTSE all-share general retailers index stood at 2,113.40 and it has since dropped 17%, closing at 1,758.88 on Monday, according to FTSE. HMV Group joined the index at the start of trading on September 23.