Some buyout firms and corporate borrowers are massively underestimating the scale of debt that needs to be refinanced in Europe over the next five years, demonstrating the wide gulf in expectations that still stands between borrowers and lenders.

According to a survey of refinancing expectations, carried out by data service Debtwire, some borrowers thought that the amount of debt that needed to be refinanced before 2016 was as little as between €50m and €6bn.