Investors, bookrunners and independent advisers are all agreed that one or two bookrunners on a flotation is the optimal number, according to a Financial News survey, raising the question of why the average number of bookrunners on initial public offerings this year has risen to more than three.

Almost two-thirds of investors said that one of two bookrunners on a flotation was the optimal number, while more than 70% of independent advisers, who in the past have been accused of increasing the size of a syndicate, said one or two bookrunners was the ideal number.