Soccer stars score for Coutts

POP and soccer stars flocked to Coutts & Co last year, helping the Queen's bank shrug off the worst of the market downturn. The business, owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, enjoyed a 6% rise in client accounts to £34.7bn - an increase of nearly £200m.

Sports and music stars were the top growth areas for new accounts. Coutts, which counts the Royal Family and half of the England national soccer squad among clients, said its number of professional footballer and motor racing clients doubled. Music industry clients rose 20%.

The rise in assets compares to declines in client accounts at many private banks in an industry hit by the market downturn. Many wealthy investors saw their portfolios plummet as markets dived last year, cutting revenues at wealth management firms in the US and Europe.