Private equity fundraising has been a casualty of the stock market slump. Not only has the door closed on flotations, denying private equity groups the chance to return money to investors, but the institutional drive into private equity has been curbed as the value of investors' total managed assets has dwindled.

Despite this capital drought, some money seems to be available for the right funds and there are clear signs that appetite for private equity remains. A recent survey by Goldman Sachs and Russell Investment Group found that North American investors planned to increase their allocations from 7.5% to 8.1%, and that Europeans will increase their allocation from 4% to 4.5%. Investors still value track record above all else. Homebase, the UK DIY retailer which returned Permira six times the money invested, was at the forefront of investors' minds when they contributed to Europe's largest buy-out fund this year, which closed at €5.1bn ($4.3bn). Altor's fund, set up by Harald Mix, a founder of Industri Kapital, was so oversubscribed that investments had to be scaled back. Hans Albrecht, a former head of Carlyle, looks set to do the same with Nordwind's debut fund.