Private equity firm Bridgepoint this morning boosted its European advisory committee with the arrival of Sir James Crosby, former chief executive of HBOS, after a successful first six months of 2006 that saw it return €1.5bn ($1.9bn) to investors.

Bridgepoint returned €1.4bn in the whole of 2005, but has already trumped that figure this year, having made a succession of lucrative exits this year as market conditions create a favourable environment for exits.