Brunswick tops chart but downturn forces job cuts

Brunswick is back on top of the City PR M&A adviser market, taking

pole position in PRWeek's Deal Watch for the first time in three months,

despite admitting plans this week to axe staff.

The financial PR firm - which works for nearly 30 of the FTSE 100 -

advised on 12 deals worth £12.5bn in September, climbing up two

places since August and boosting deal value by nearly £11bn.

The data is compiled according to publicised deals involving at least

one UK company.

Despite Brunswick's return to the top slot, senior sources at the firm

confirmed that tough market conditions have forced a round of

redundancies.

The agency is laying off at least five client-facing staff and a host of

back-office employees.

According to the figures - compiled exclusively for PRWeek by corporate

finance information service Zephus - the M&A climate, while remaining

depressed, has made a slight comeback since the lows of the summer,

which saw the largest deals reaching just £4.11bn in August.

Brunswick owes its high ranking to last month's completion of the merger

between Halifax and Bank of Scotland, which has created the UK's fifth

largest bank, now named HBOS.

Tavistock Communications has climbed back into the Top 10, now ranking

second having advised on five deals worth £8.75bn - £8.73bn

of which came from retained UK client Vodafone.

The mobile phone network has announced its last step in a protracted

takeover of Japan Telecom as part of a plan to sell the Japanese firm's

fixed-line business for £3bn.

Financial Dynamics fell to ninth in the September table, advising on 15

deals totalling £142m.

Buchanan Communications edged into the Top 10 handling PR for Old

English Inns, which is selling for £103m to regional brewer and

pub operator Greene King.

DEAL WATCH SEPTEMBER 2001 RANKING

Ranking Financial PR Company No of Deals Deal Value

pounds bn

1 Brunswick 12 12.5

2 Tavistock Communications 5 8.75

3 Gavin Anderson & Company 1 8.73

4 Finsbury 4 1.29

5 Smithfield Financial 3 1.28

6 Citigate Dewe Rogerson 7 0.58

7 Maitland Consultancy 3 0.51

8 Cardew & Co 2 0.30

9 Financial Dynamics 15 0.14

10 Buchanan Communications 12 0.13

Source: Zephus Corporate Finance Knowledge (www.zephus.com).