Richard Sharp, the former chairman of US bank Goldman Sachs' European buyout arm, has predicted the deals done in 2009 and 2010 will be one of the best vintages after deal values return to more “normal” levels.

Sharp is widely regarded as one of Europe’s greatest buyout figures after turning Goldman Sachs’s private equity teams into a top decile performer in his eight years in charge before his planned departure was announced in late 2006. At a Private Equity News conference he said: “The industry is looking at a great vintage in 2009 and 2010 as deal values return to normal. Vintages matter and though parts of the industry has been tarnished by some hubris it still offers the best model for companies.”