Tate & Lyle, the UK food group, has become the first FTSE company to drop Hoare Govett for Citigroup following the defection of a team from the UK broker to the US bank earlier this year. The news came as Marks & Spencer and BAA dropped JP Morgan Cazenove as their broker.

Nigel Mills, who joined Citigroup as chairman of corporate broking last month, taking seven of his team, acted as broker to Tate & Lyle during his time as chief executive of Hoare Govett, the broking arm of Netherlands bank ABN Amro.