The Hoare Govett Smaller Companies Index is 21 years old this year – but news from the sector is such that the party is unlikely to go with a swing.

As Professor Elroy Dimson of London Business School pointed out, 2007 was an “interesting” year for smaller quoted companies. But the start of this year had probably been not only the worst first half of January he could recall, but also the worst in the recorded history of the index. Any favourable performance last year had disappeared in a trice.