The average size of leveraged loans in Europe has broken through the €1bn barrier for the first time - reflecting the market's obsession with big ticket buy-outs, according to a new report.

Big buy-out financings for companies including Messer Griesheim, the German gases group, Kappa, the Dutch packaging concern and Yell, the UK directories business, have driven Europe's leveraged loan market in the first half of the year.