UK buyout volume for the first half is close to overtaking that of the whole of 2006, itself a record year, thanks to the £11bn (€16.2bn) acquisition of Alliance Boots by a group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

The UK private equity industry has enjoyed a strong second quarter, boosting first half deal values to £25bn, just £1.5bn shy of the record full year value set last year, according to date from the Centre for Management Buy-Out Research, a research body founded by accountants Deloitte and Barclays Private Equity.