The small and mid-cap broking sector of London has the air of a much-depleted platoon after a prolonged conflict: littered with casualties but held together by a few battle-hardened survivors.

The adversary has been a declining fee pool linked to a lack of investor interest in UK equities. According to research from investment bank Liberum, the number of small caps (excluding investment trusts) has fallen from 438 in 2000 to 135 in 2012.