Barclays Capital's five- year push to raise its profile in US leveraged finance is scoring gains against top Wall Street lenders and winning high-profile assignments.

The division of Barclays had roles in the $4.7bn debt financing for KKR's buyout of Del Monte Foods and the $3.4bn financing for the buyout of Tomkins, the two largest leveraged buyouts of 2010. It also had recent big loan refinancing deals for Dunkin' Brands, Burger King and Michael Foods.