NB Private Equity, formerly the listed private equity fund of funds of failed US bank Lehman Brothers, has sold its investment in eight private equity funds, taking advantage of rising prices and increased buyer appetite in the secondaries market. Secondary activity, where an investor in a private equity fund sells its stake in a fund to another investor, has picked up sharply in the last few months as prices for these stakes have increased.

The rise is also being driven by the numbers of funds raised in the past two years to target secondary investments. James Glass, analyst at Numis Securities said: "Buyers are coming to market to take advantage of discounts in the secondary market. There is a lot of dry powder, with funds raised over the past two years in anticipation of distressed selling which never materialised. It's a competitive environment."