View the Corporate Advisers Ranking Guide here
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS QUARTER’S GUIDE:
Total Stock Market
PwC extended its lead this quarter and remains the only firm with over 200 quoted clients. BDO retained 2nd place and EY 3rd place with 174 and 154 clients respectively. PKF Littlejohn held 4th place with 133 clients, while Deloitte and KPMG made up 5th place and 6th place, with a respective 121 and 112 clients. Outside of the firms with over 100 clients, Grant Thornton UK retained 7th place with 67 clients. Crowe (8th), RSM UK Audit (9th) and MHA (10th) then followed to complete the top ten firms. Cooper Parry Group in 15th place was the biggest winner this quarter, adding five clients, just shy of double the number added by all of the firms ranked above it. Elsewhere across the rankings, Johnston Carmichael, MAH Chartered Accountants and Saffery all picked up two new clients each. KPMG remained in 1st place by client market cap.
FTSE 100
Deloitte, KPMG and PwC remained locked in equal 1st place with 25 clients each for the second successive quarter. This is only the second time that three of the Big Four have placed in equal 1st since Q3 2018. While the top three ranked firms retained a 75% client share of FTSE 100 constituents this quarter, seven firms now share in all of the 100 prestigious mandates. EY retained 4th place with 21 clients. Grant Thornton UK returned to the FTSE 100 ranking for the first time in two years, debuting in joint 6th place after Computacenter PLC moved up to join the blue-chip index in June. This was the first time since Q3 2024 that as many as three non-Big Four Auditors had appeared in the FTSE 100 client rankings. KPMG saw the market cap of its clients increase its lead further this quarter, while PwC stepped up from 3rd to take 2nd place by the market value of its clients.
FTSE 250
PwC extended its 1st place lead to 22 clients, taking its total client count to 78 this quarter. The firm lost Trustpilot Group PLC but picked up new mandates from The Merchants Trust PLC and Fidelity China Special Situations PLC to pull further ahead at the top with a net gain of one. EY and Deloitte made up 2nd and 3rd places with 56 and 39 clients respectively. KPMG held 4th place with 33 clients. Overall, the non-Big Four firms in the ranking increased their combined client count from 42 up to 44 this quarter, now accounting for 18% of Audits for index constituents. BDO in 5th place made a single gain, taking its client count to 25 as the only non-Big Four firm to have a client count in double figures. Johnston Carmichael also added one to its tally this quarter, doubling its client count to two and moving up from joint to outright 9th place. Returning to the ranking for the first time since Q3 2025, Crowe debuted in joint 10th place with one client alongside MHA.
FTSE 350
PwC made a single gain and increased its lead to 26 clients, taking its total client count up to 103. EY retained 2nd place with 77 clients and Deloitte 3rd with 64 clients. With KPMG in 4th place with 58 clients, the Big Four now audit 86% of the FTSE 350, as the non-Big Four have increased their share by a further 3% in the last three years. BDO added a single gain to its client count this quarter, taking its client total up to 27, but remained in 5th place. Crowe debuted in joint 10th place with one client alongside MHA.
FTSE Small Cap/Fledgling
PwC added two clients to take its total up to 40 this quarter, now just one behind BDO who remained in 1st place. Deloitte added four to its client count, including Forterra PLC and Meridian Mining PLC. The firm now sits just five clients adrift of 3rd placed EY which added one to its tally this quarter. Grant Thornton UK added four clients to its total and moved up from 8th to joint 7th place, while PKF Littlejohn increased its count by three and moved up from 11th to take joint 10th place.
Main Market
BDO moved up to share joint 1st place with PKF Littlejohn this quarter, both firms now with 38 clients each. PwC moved up from 4th into 3rd place with 31 clients, just one ahead of EY in 4th place. Baker Tilly CI Audit and Moore Kingston Smith debuted in joint 10th place, each having eight clients.
Total AIM
PKF Littlejohn retained 1st place with 88 clients, now 20 clients ahead of BDO in 2nd place. Crowe and Grant Thornton UK made up 3rd and 4th places respectively. RSM UK Audit moved up from joint 6th to 5th place. Cooper Parry Group added most clients this quarter, increasing its count by five and moving up from 8th into joint 7th place. MHA added two new clients, including new mandate CT Automotive Group PLC, and moved up from joint 10th into 9th place. BDO moved up from 2nd to take 1st place by client market cap.
Total Aquis
Edwards Veeder (UK) moved up from 2nd to share joint 1st place with PKF Littlejohn, both having eight clients each. RPG Crouch Chapman made up 3rd place with seven clients. MAH Chartered Accountants debuted in 1st place by client market cap thanks to new Aquis constituent, Nomad Compute PLC.
Total Stock Market
Panmure Liberum saw its lead increased to sixteen clients this quarter with a total client count of 165. Cavendish Capital Markets and Peel Hunt held 2nd place and 3rd place with 149 and 143 clients respectively. J.P. Morgan Cazenove moved up from 5th to 4th place with 121 clients. Zeus Capital in 6th place was the biggest winner this quarter, adding five clients and taking its client total up to 110. Elsewhere in the top ten, Investec Bank and Canaccord Genuity both added a net three new clients each, holding 7th place and 8th place respectively. Shore Capital Stockbrokers retained in 10th place but added four clients to its tally in the quarter. Morgan Stanley & Co International moved up from 2nd to take 1st place by client market cap.
FTSE 100
J.P. Morgan Cazenove increased its lead with a net gain of one taking its total client count up to 37, now five clear of Morgan Stanley & Co International in 2nd place. Bank of America Securities held 4th place but added new client Metlen Energy & Metals PLC to close the gap on 3rd placed UBS AG London Branch to just one client. Goldman Sachs International in 7th place added one to its count to total 16 clients. Jefferies in 9th place added most net clients this quarter, seeing its total increase by two including the addition of NatWest Group PLC as a new client.
FTSE 250
The battle in the ranking heated up this quarter as J.P. Morgan Cazenove made a net gain of two new clients and moved up from 3rd to share joint 2nd place alongside Peel Hunt with 54 clients each. Both are now just one client adrift of 1st placed Deutsche Numis. Investec Bank held 4th place but significantly increased its net client count by seven this quarter, taking its client count to 50, just five clients behind 1st place. Client gains were also evident in the lower half of the top ten. Panmure Liberum gained two clients and held 7th place.
FTSE 350
J.P. Morgan Cazenove increased its lead to 23 clients having added a net three new clients this quarter and taken its total count to 91. Deutsche Numis retained 2nd place with 68 clients and Peel Hunt 3rd place with 59 clients. Meanwhile Investec Bank rose from 6th to take 4th place, its elevation fuelled by a net gain of seven new clients. The gains took its total client count to 52.
FTSE Small Cap/Fledgling
Peel Hunt further extended its lead adding a net two clients and bringing its total to 39, now five clients ahead of Panmure Liberum in 2nd place. Deutsche Numis held 3rd place this quarter, making a net gain of one to take its total count to 31. Investec Bank added a net two clients and moved up from 5th to 4th place. Singer Capital Markets Securities added most clients in Q3 having increased its count by five and moved up from equal 7th to joint 5th place. Berenberg held equal 7th place but added a net four clients this quarter. Canaccord Genuity increased its count by two to break into the top ten having moved from 11th up to joint 10th. Stifel Nicolaus Europe added four clients and moved up from 14th to joint 13th place. Peel Hunt moved up from 2nd to take 1st place by client market cap.
Main Market
Panmure Liberum retained 1st place with a total of 46 clients, followed by AlbR Capital in 2nd place with 25 clients and Shore Capital Stockbrokers in 3rd place with 14 clients. Jefferies added one to its client count and moved up from joint 8th to 5th place, while Canaccord Genuity moved up from joint 8th to joint 6th place. SI Capital debuted in 8th place with nine clients this quarter.
Total AIM
Zeus Capital retained 2nd place but added a net four new clients to take its total count to 94. The gains mean that the firm is now 21 clients behind Cavendish Capital Markets in 1st place. Canaccord Genuity lost essensys PLC this quarter but gained Crystal Amber Fund and H-Power PLC as new clients and moved up from joint 4th into 3rd place. Meanwhile Oak Securities added a net four clients to move from equal 17th up to joint 15th and VSA Capital debuted in equal 23rd place with eight clients.
Total Aquis
Oberon Capital held 2nd place but made a net gain of two clients this quarter, taking its total count to eight, now seven clients behind AlbR Capital in 1st place. Allenby Capital gained one new client and moved up from joint 9th to equal 6th place. Tennyson Securities debuted in equal 9th place with two clients. Meanwhile Fortified Securities leapt from 7th into 1st place by client market cap.
Total Stock Market
Zeus Capital moved up from joint 3rd to take 2nd place this quarter, though it is 47 clients adrift of Cavendish Capital Markets in 1st place which has 113 clients. Strand Hanson also stepped up and moved from joint 3rd to take outright 3rd place. Panmure Liberum held 5th place but increased its client count with a single gain to total 61 clients, now just one client behind 4th placed Rothschild & Co. Singer Capital Markets Securities, Canaccord Genuity and J.P. Morgan Cazenove all made a single gain each and improved their respective placings within the lower half of the top ten. Shore Capital & Corporate added most net new clients in Q3, having increased its count by three and moved up from 14th to joint 13th place.
FTSE 100
Morgan Stanley & Co International retained 2nd place but is now just one client behind 1st placed UBS AG London Branch, which has 12 clients. Rothschild & Co. held 3rd place with nine clients. Single gains for Goldman Sachs International and J.P. Morgan Cazenove saw both move from equal to joint 4th place. Fenchurch Advisory Partners debuted in the rankings in equal 14th place with one client after Investec PLC returned to the FTSE 100 in June. Rothschild & Co. moved up from 2nd to claim 1st place by client market cap.
FTSE 250
J.P. Morgan Cazenove held 2nd place but added The Berkeley Group Holdings PLC as a new client to close the gap to five behind Rothschild & Co.. which retained 1st place with 28 clients. Investec Bank added most clients this quarter, having increased its client count by four and moved up from 4th to 3rd place. Investec Bank’s haul of client gains ensured that it moved up from 10th to 4th place by client market cap this quarter.
FTSE 350
J.P. Morgan Cazenove increased its client count with a net gain of two and moved within six clients of 1st placed Rothschild & Co. which has 37 clients. Deutsche Numis retained 3rd place, now with 19 clients. Investec Bank made the largest gain of the quarter having added four to its count, which triggered a move up the rankings from joint 7th to equal 4th place.
FTSE Small Cap/Fledgling
Rothschild & Co. held 1st place and added one client to take its total up to 17, which extended its lead over 2nd placed Deutsche Numis to three. Cavendish Capital Markets retained 3rd place with 13 clients. Meanwhile Rothschild & Co. also moved up from 3rd to claim 2nd place by client market cap.
Main Market
Allenby Capital moved up from joint 2nd to claim outright 2nd place, now just three clients adrift of 1st placed AlbR Capital which has ten clients. Panmure Liberum and SPARK Advisory Partners made a single gain each and both stepped up from equal 8th into equal 3rd place this quarter. J.P. Morgan Cazenove moved up from 2nd into 1st place by client market cap.
Total AIM
Zeus Capital held 2nd place but added Tialis Essential IT PLC this quarter to trim the lead of 1st placed Cavendish Capital Markets to a difference of 32 clients. The independent Strand Hanson retained 3rd place with 60 clients. Elsewhere in the top ten, Canaccord Genuity and SP Angel remained in joint 6th place but added one to each of their respective client counts. Cavendish Capital Markets moved up from 2nd to take 1st place by client market cap.
Total Aquis
AlbR Capital retained 1st place with 17 clients, followed by Cairn Financial Advisers in 2nd place with nine clients and First Sentinel Corporate Finance in 3rd place with eight clients. Allenby Capital added two new clients in the quarter, elevating it from joint to outright 4th place. Alfred Henry Corporate Finance moved from 11th into 1st place by client market cap thanks to new Aquis constituent, Nomad Compute PLC.
Total Stock Market
Slaughter and May retained 1st place with 103 quoted clients this quarter, still the only firm with a triple-digit client count. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer held 2nd place with 93 clients, while Dickson Minto 3rd with 81 clients. Hill Dickinson remained in 4th place but made a net gain of two new clients. Stephenson Harwood added Murray International Trust PLC to continue its climb up the top ten, moving from joint 9th to outright 8th place in Q3. Meanwhile CMS broke into the top ten, moving up from 11th to 10th place. Of the five magic circle firms, only Slaughter and May (1st), Linklaters (5th) and A&O Shearman (10th) ranked in the top ten. However, by client market cap, the magic circle still comprised the top five ranked firms with Linklaters retaining 1st place.
FTSE 100
Slaughter and May increased its lead this quarter by adding one client to take its total count up to 31, now five clients ahead of Linklaters in 2nd place. Freshfields retained 3rd place with 25 clients. A&O Shearman and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer held 4th place and 5th place with 23 and 20 clients respectively. In the lower half of the ranking Osborne Clarke moved up from equal 15th to joint 13th following the promotion of its client Investec PLC to the FTSE 100. Linklaters retained 1st place by client market cap, the only law firm with a combined FTSE 100 client market value of over £1 trillion (£1.26 trillion).
FTSE 250
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer moved up from 3rd to claim 2nd place having increased its client count by two in the quarter, bringing its total count to 37 clients. Slaughter and May retained 1st place, 12 clients clear at the top. Dickson Minto slotted into 3rd place with 33 clients, while Linklaters retained 4th place with 27 clients. Carey Olsen held 5th place but added one to its net client count, now with 23 clients.
FTSE 350
Slaughter and May retained 1st place with 80 clients, followed by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in 2nd place with 57 clients and Linklaters in 3rd place with 53 clients. Carey Olsen retained 8th place but added one to its client count, taking its client total up to 25. Dentons UK and Middle East and Gowling WLG (UK) both debuted in equal 19th this quarter with ten clients each.
FTSE Small Cap/Fledgling
Dickson Minto retained 1st place and added European Opportunities Trust PLC as a new client, taking its client total up to 36. Stephenson Harwood held 2nd place and made a single net gain this quarter to total 30 clients. Carey Olsen and Gowling WLG (UK) both increased their client counts by two. Both firms moved up from joint 4th place to a share of equal 3rd place alongside Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. Norton Rose Fulbright added most clients in the quarter, with a net increase of three sufficient to move it up two places from 9th to 7th place.
Main Market
Howard Kennedy nudged up from joint 1st to claim outright 1st place with 28 clients. Hill Dickinson, now in 2nd place, is just one client behind. Gowling WLG (UK) stepped up from 4th to 3rd place this quarter, now with 13 clients. Travers Smith made a single gain to move up from equal 7th to take 5th place. Meanwhile Dickson Minto debuted in equal 11th place with eight clients. Slaughter and May moved up from 2nd to claim 1st place by client market cap.
Total AIM
Hill Dickinson extended its lead having made a net gain of three clients this quarter, including new clients Marechale Capital PLC and Braime Group PLC. Hill Dickinson is now nine clients ahead of 2nd placed Fieldfisher which has 36 clients. Druces stepped up from 5th to claim joint 4th place, while CMS and Haynes and Boone improved their rankings within the top ten. Addleshaw Goddard added Novacyt as a new client and moved up from joint 12th to join Fladgate in joint 10th place. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer rose from 5th to take 1st place by client market cap.
Total Aquis
Hill Dickinson retained 1st place but added a single client to its count, which now totals 15. Fladgate in 2nd place also made a single gain this quarter and is eight clients behind the leader. Haynes and Boone made a gain of one and moved up from equal 5th to equal 3rd place. Blake Morgan debuted in equal 6th place with two clients. By client market cap, Fladgate moved up from 8th to claim 1st place.
Total Stock Market
FTI Consulting retained top spot this quarter with 103 clients, the only firm to have a triple-digit quoted client count. It was followed by Camarco in 2nd place with 59 clients. Alma Strategic Communications stepped up from 4th to take joint 3rd place, where it was joined by Teneo which moved up from joint 5th place. Teneo’s rise was fuelled by having added most clients in the quarter as the firm increased its client total to 52 with a haul of six new gains. Sodali & Co moved up from 7th to take 6th place with 43 clients in a highly competitive ranking. Tavistock Communications made four gains and moved up from joint 10th to take 8th place. Meanwhile Brunswick retained 1st place by client market cap this quarter.
FTSE 100
Teneo moved up the ranking from 3rd to take 2nd place in Q3. Teneo netted an increase of five clients to take its total client count to 19. Brunswick retained 1st place this quarter, nine clients ahead and with a total client count of 28. FTI Consulting took up 3rd place with 16 clients. Lansons and VCCP Roar both debuted this quarter, making a total of ten firms ranked in equal 12th with one client each. Teneo’s gains meant that it moved up from 3rd to 2nd place by client market cap, but with less than half of the client market cap of Brunswick in 1st place.
FTSE 250
FTI Consulting added a net four client gains in Q3, taking its client total up to 30. Among FTI Consulting’s gains were Foresight Environmental Infrastructure, Plus500, Inchcape PLC and Elementis PLC. The gains extended its lead to 13 clients ahead of Headland and Teneo, both of whom had moved up from joint 3rd to joint 2nd place this quarter with 17 clients each. Sodali & Co moved up from joint 5th to 4th place with 16 clients. FGS Global added CVS Group PLC as a new client and stepped up from 8th to equal 5th place alongside Brunswick and Lansons, all with 15 clients each in a fiercely fought ranking. Teneo moved up from 3rd to 2nd place by client market cap, while FTI Consulting held 1st place.
FTSE 350
FTI Consulting moved up from 2nd to take 1st place having added five client gains in the quarter to take its client total up to 46. The uplift in its client numbers saw FTI Consulting move three clients ahead of Brunswick who took up 2nd place this quarter. Teneo retained 3rd place but also added five to its client count to bring its total up to 36. Sodali & Co held 4th place with 23 clients. Teneo moved up from 3rd to take 2nd place by client market cap.
FTSE Small Cap/Fledgling
Camarco added a net two gains to its client count this quarter and moved up from joint 2nd to claim outright 2nd place. Camarco now has 14 clients in total, nine adrift of FTI Consulting who retained 1st place. Teneo moved up from 4th and joined Burson Buchanan in joint 3rd place with 11 clients each.
Main Market
FTI Consulting retained 1st place with 11 clients, still three clients ahead of IFC Advisory and Kaso Legg Communications locked in joint 2nd place. BlytheRay moved up from joint 7th to take equal 4th place, while Yellow Jersey PR moved up from equal 9th to equal 7th place. Sodali & Co debuted in equal 10th place with five clients this quarter.
Total AIM
Walbrook PR made a net gain of one new client this quarter, taking its total client count to 29, now 15 clients adrift of 1st placed Alma Strategic Communications. Vigo Consulting moved up from joint 5th to 3rd place having made a net gain of two clients. The gains increased its total count up to 28, now just one shy of Walbrook PR. Hudson Sandler, Celicourt Communications, H/Advisors and Teneo all made a single gain each and improved their respective ranking positions in Q3.
Total Aquis
Yellow Jersey PR moved up from equal 4th to claim 1st place this quarter. The firm added new clients VVV Sports and Mollyroe PLC, doubling its client count to total four and go one client clear of 2nd placed IFC Advisory. Redchurch Communications and Vigo Consulting both moved up from equal 4th to equal 3rd place.
*PKF is one of the UK's largest and most successful accountancy brands. We provide a full range of audit, accountancy, tax, and advisory services, and are experts at simplifying complexity – we're particularly well-known for working with large, complex, high-profile businesses with challenging issues in fast-moving and highly technical areas. We are one of the most experienced auditors of listed companies in the UK, with over 190 clients on a range of domestic and international markets including the London Stock Exchange Main Market, AIM, AQUIS, NASDAQ, OTC, ASX and TSX & TSX-V.
Notes to Editors
The Corporate Advisers Rankings Guide is published quarterly. The 3rd quarter update summarised here is for the three months ending 12 August 2026. For rankings scores in relation to the tables, a single point is awarded to reflect a confirmed client relationship, regardless of whether it is a sole or joint appointment.