Mixed fortunes have greeted the 16 registrars featured in our rankings with at least three clients but despite some bright spots the overall tally is again down.

Capita bears the brunt of the shrinkage although it retains the massive lead that it has enjoyed ever since we began our rankings guide six years ago. It also continues to claim more than 1,000 clients, easily the best total for any type of adviser.

Once more Computershare bathes in a warm glow as its additional clients on AIM and in the FTSE 100 translate into seven extra across the market. This is the third consecutive plus score for Computershare, which has added 15 clients since February, no mean feat in the current investment climate.

The icing on the cake is that the higher client numbers have translated into first place in the market caps and profits rankings. Computershare has never topped both these tables at the same time and has stood mostly in second place in both. Equiniti now slips back to second for market caps and profits, its cause not being helped by the loss of four clients overall.

Share Registrars edges up from fifth to fourth one client ahead of Neville as these two continue their private tussle at the head of the following pack. Share Registrars has for the most part held the upper hand but Neville has been chiselling away at the gap and in August it surged ahead with six gains to Share’s three. While Share has again added three clients, Neville is unchanged this time.

One other performance to note is that of The City Partnership (UK), which joined the list with three clients in May and has added two more since August. The reward is a move up three places to joint tenth.

Figures as at 4th November 2011 and information in brackets from 3rd August 2011.