HSBC's corporate financiers have scooped three out of the top four mergers and acquisitions mandates currently on the table in the City of London, with its advice to Coats, the threads company, on its impending takeover.

Aidan Wallis of HSBC is advising Coats on the agreed £417m (€609m) acquisition by a consortium led by Guiness Peat, the purchasing group which already holds a 37% stake in Coats.