Imperial Tobacco has swept the board at the second annual Financial News Awards for Corporate Excellence in Capital Markets - Europe 2002, winning four accolades including European Corporate of the Year.

The UK tobacco company was voted Corporate of the Year for 2002 after its share price rose 39% last year, making it the best performing stock in the FTSE 100 and the second best performer in the FTSE Eurotop 300. The panel of senior bankers and fund managers from across Europe were impressed with Imperial's £3.5bn (€5.1bn) acquisition of Reemtsma, the German tobacco company, and the debt issue and rights issue which funded the deal.