General Electric (GE) is turning its back on its controversial online auction tender process as it embarks upon a review of its European advisers.

GE, one of the world’s biggest companies, has launched a review of its European legal panel and hopes to complete the process by the end of the summer. But the company will not be using the innovative eBay-style auction method in which firms attempt to outbid each other by lowering fee rates in real time to secure panel work.