Paul Hondros, chief executive at Gartmore Asset Management, is looking forward to the day when his group can secure a stock market listing again. The private company, based in Delaware, is 80%-owned by Nationwide Mutual of the US.

Hondros said: "Our management would like to see it floated and it is Nationwide's preference to do so when the time is right." But he stressed that plenty of work needed to be done before such a move. He is particularly keen for Gartmore to lift its share of US and European retail fund business. "In the UK we may need a transforming deal to achieve this," he said.