Stockbroker Brewin Dolphin Securities (BDS) has been appointed as broker to five clients with a total market capitalisation of £220m.

This includes its appointment as regional broker to leading North-East engineering firm domnick hunter.

From its Newcastle offices, BDS provides its clients with a range of brokering services, including analytical research, institutional dealings in the company's shares, advice on any corporate transactions and dealing with other stock market-related matters.

Much of the team's work relates specifically to Northern quoted companies, including Bellway, Greggs, Grainger Trust, Reg Vardy, Sage, and Ultimate Leisure, for which it acts as official broker.

Domnick hunter, which has its headquarters in Gateshead and employs more than 800 people in the North-East, is one of the UK's leading engineering firms.

The other four new clients secured in the past two months include NRG, which is one of the North's leading recruitment agencies, and Care UK, which provides specialist care outsourcing for elderly, mentally ill and adults with learning disabilities.

It has also been appointed as broker to Eliza Tinsley, an engineering firm with a plant at Evenwood, County Durham, and London's NBA Quantum, which provides consultancy services for the resolution of contractual claims and construction management services.