The Big Four have maintained their stranglehold on the FTSE 100 in the latest reshuffle of the index.

Mid-tier firm Grant Thornton had threatened to break into the audit market for the top 100 companies after a surge in the market capitalisation of investment trust Templeton Emerging Markets.

But GT’s client missed the cut, meaning the FTSE 100 remains the exclusive preserve of the Big Four.

When the FTSE 100 reserve list was announced after the last review in December, business giants including Burberry, EasyJet and Drax were all vying with Templeton for a FTSE 100 berth, but the shortlist had been turned on its head by the time the changes were to be made.

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Tate & Lyle, and Cobham were promoted to the top flight, as Taylor Wimpey, Yell Group, and Rentokil Initial dropped out.

The reshuffle took place last week and five of the six companies that swapped places were clients of PricewaterhouseCoopers. PwC has almost twice as many FTSE 100 audits as closest challenger KPMG.

The FTSE 100 has been without mid-tier auditor representation since PartyGaming crashed out of the index in 2006.