The UK’s financial watchdog almost doubled the number of police raids it carried out on City companies in 2018, according to a consultancy, which put the jump down to a crackdown on risky retail investment schemes.

There were 25 so-called dawn raids on business premises last year, up from 13 in 2017 and amounting to the highest total in eight years, according to the analysis of Financial Conduct Authority figures by FSCom, which advises finance businesses on compliance.