In the 1990s everybody knew their place. Public markets in the UK were controlled by pension funds and insurance companies. Private equity houses were known for buying sleepy, privately run businesses or high-risk venture capital investments.

The hedge fund industry was starting to gather pace, driven by stars such as George Soros and Julian Robertson, but these managers focused on emerging markets, financial arbitrage or macro strategies. High-profile private entrepreneurs such as Alan Sugar and Richard Branson had a love-hate relationship with the public markets, occasionally listing parts of their business empires and usually regretting it.