Europe’s private equity firms have historically relied on a small number of names for mid-market deal advice. In the UK, the big four accountancy firms, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY, have typically taken a large share of mandates alongside investment banking giants such as Rothschild, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

But things are starting to change with boutiques muscling in on the action. In the year to date, seven boutiques feature in the top 20 UK M&A advisers on private equity deals worth between $5 million and $200 million. There were six in the top 20 in the same period last year. Both years are significantly above historical levels.