Hot and frothy summed up the leveraged finance market this year. Sometimes it was hard to know whether private equity managers and their bankers were talking about debt or a mid-morning capuccino. Like a good coffee the market set pulses racing and proved mightily addictive.

Bankers could not walk away for fear of missing out on the next big deal. One senior banker said: "We think it cannot go any higher but none of us can afford to step away in case we miss out on the deal that hits the home run. It is a tantalising game of chicken."