In the perennial struggle to cajole and retain staff, investment banks have turned to the services of discreet dating agencies to perk up their employees. Mindful of the impact that lonely employees can have on productivity, the banks are apparently playing cupid.

'Some investment banks pay for staff to use my services,' says Virginia Sweetingham of Berkeley Sweetingham International. 'It makes sense for organisations. A lot of people work long hours and travel a lot, which makes life hard because you don't always meet people in a departure lounge.' She declines, however, to name any of her clients.