London remains the world's most attractive financial centre, though some European rivals are gaining ground in the wake of the Brexit vote, according to a survey.

The Z/Yen global financial centres index, which ranks cities on things such as financial infrastructure and jobs, showed that while the City extended its lead over its nearest rival, New York, cities including Frankfurt and Dublin were climbing the league table.

That was largely attributed to a growing number of firms in the sector looking to hedge their bets - given continuing Brexit uncertainty - by either planning to open new offices or boost staffing in such cities in order to maintain access to EU customers and markets after the UK leaves.

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The report found Frankfurt - home to the European Central Bank - moving up to 11th in the world league table from 23rd a year ago.

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Dublin stood in 30th place from 33rd.

The study, conducted in June, saw New York remain in second place but lose ground on London.

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Its authors said the gap between the two was at its widest since the survey began in 2007.

They speculated that this was down to fears about US trade deals in the wake of Donald Trump's election as US President. He has already pulled the country out of the planned trans-Pacific trade agreement.

TheCityUK, which represents London's financial sector, said the findings should not be greeted with complacency and appealed for more information from the Government on its plans for a transition period after the UK is due to leave the EU in 2019.

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Its chief executive, Miles Celic, said: "Absent this, many firms have already started to activate their contingency plans and others will undoubtedly follow suit if these aren't confirmed as soon as possible - and by the end of the year at the very latest."