The fallout from the controversial stock market flotation of Royal Mail has reopened a rift between the bank and independent advisers who run such deals.

Accusations that taxpayers lost money on the £2 billion float arose after the shares closed up 38 per cent on their market debut – well above the normally targeted first-day premium of between five and 10 per cent on such deals.

Subsequent questions over the pricing of the offer have reignited the bad feeling between banks, who sometimes feel advisers get in the way of their relationship with the company or government, and the independent firms, who say they help protect clients’ interests.

At stake are millions of dollars in fees generated by floating companies successfully on the stock exchange.

Britain’s Public Accounts Committee, a group of legislators who scrutinise aspects of government finances, said on Thursday it would quiz independent firm Lazard over its role in the Royal Mail float.

Its comments came a week after a National Audit Office report said the deal had been underpriced and recommended the government cut its reliance on financial advisers, or ensure it improved taxpayer returns where it used advisers in future.

Bankers from Goldman Sachs and UBS, which acted as global lead managers on the deal, were grilled in a high-profile parliamentary session in November last year and some bankers said it was time for independent advisors to be similarly put in the spotlight.

“It was a shock to me that they weren’t included in the first round of questioning,” said a banking source. “It was very extraordinary to only have Goldman Sachs and UBS in front of the government, given that Lazard helped appoint them.”

As well as the issue of fees, some bankers also highlighted the long-standing complaint that they sometimes felt undermined by the presence of advisers, who they said could be an obstruction between themselves and the client.

But as the global IPO market bounces back, advisers are becoming ever more firmly entrenched in the market as companies seek their guidance in an increasingly competitive environment. (Reuters)