Investment banks and law firms are set to receive large fees for advising dozens of private equity firms on billions of euros worth of fund flotations in the next six months.

A corporate finance adviser said he was working with 10 private equity firms seeking to list funds between now and early next year on Euronext Amsterdam with a combined value of more than €10bn ($13bn). Another investment banker said he thought up to 30 private equity and hedge funds were expected to list by the end of the year. The firms are eager to follow in the footsteps of rivals that have floated funds. US buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts set the trend with its flotation of KKR Private Equity Investors on Euronext Amsterdam in May, paying $270m (€213m) in fees to the three banks that handled the listing. A listed fund provides a more liquid investment opportunity than a traditionally structured fund, where investment horizons can run to 10 years or more. Investors can also benefit from the rise in value of the fund's shares. A listed fund provides a source of permanent capital for managers, allowing them to make longer-term investments without the need for further fundraising. A Lehman Brothers banker said there were more than 30 permanent capital vehicles planned for this year and the bank expected the market to continue growing. Wim Hazeleger, co-head of law firm Linklaters' financial markets and investment management group in Amsterdam, said: "Private equity firms are finding a new way to raise capital with a new pool of investors." Linklaters' Amsterdam team advised KKR, which more than tripled the target size of its latest listed fund to $5bn, after demand from US and European hedge funds. Apollo Management, a US alternative assets firm, became the first to follow KKR into the equity capital markets with the launch of its $1.5bn quoted vehicle on Euronext at the end of May. Doughty Hanson became the third to list a fund by raising more than €1bn on London's Alternative Investment Market last month. Swiss private equity fund of funds firm, Partners Group, followed with an Aim listing of €750m. Other private equity groups thought to be considering fund floats are Apax Partners, Blackstone, Texas Pacific and Carlyle. However, those firms scrambling to list funds will have noted flotations have experienced difficulties with shares in KKR's fund falling after its launch on Euronext – they have continued to perform poorly. Bankers said there was a lack of aftermarket liquidity, so investors could not easily trade out of their holdings. Trading volume in shares in the KKR fund, which reached a high on the first day of about 25 million, or slightly more than 10%, have frequently fallen below one million and have fallen close to 5,000 in the past month.