Some corporate deals take a while to prove their worth — in the case of Jefferies’ acquisition of venerable City broker Hoare Govett, about 10 years.

When the US investment bank bought Hoare Govett exactly a decade ago, it acquired one of the biggest corporate broking client lists in the UK, including 10 companies in the FTSE 100. The hope was that Jefferies would prove better than Hoare Govett’s previous owners at selling these clients other services, including M&A advice.