The pressures of the recent boom in mergers and acquisitions have driven a surge in alcohol addiction among London professionals such as investment bankers, lawyers and accountants, according to counselling organisations and attendance levels at Alcoholics Anonymous.
AA now holds up to 22 meetings a week across the City of London and Canary Wharf, compared with what the organisation says was "substantially fewer" a decade ago.
The support group's breakfast meetings in London (at 6am and 7.30am) and lunchtime meetings regularly attract about 40 members.
Dr Mike McPhillips, a consultant psychiatrist who specialises in addiction at the Priory Hospital in London, said the Priory now sees "a large number of clients in [ London] and we are seeing younger people with this problem".
"[ London] has a culture that encourages excessive use of alcohol. The available evidence suggests that the more money about, the more alcohol about," he added.
M&A activity worldwide has reached $2,400 billion (€1,869 billion) so far this year - marking the highest volume on record for any equivalent period and surpassing even the heady days of the dotcom boom, according to Dealogic, the data provider.
The pressure has been so intense that some in London have turned their backs on the long-hours culture. According to Hudson, the recruitment consultancy, one in two bankers choose to work for employers who offered the best work-life balance.
