When US private equity giant Clayton, Dubilier & Rice made a surprise £5.54bn cash offer for British supermarket chain Morrisons last week, it capped what has been the busiest six-month period for takeovers of UK-listed companies since the global financial crisis.

Armed with record levels of cash, US-based buyout groups are crossing the Atlantic to snap up UK companies at breakneck speed. That pace shows little sign of slowing down as private equity groups seek to take advantage of cheap valuations to deploy their record amounts of dry powder and bulk up their portfolios.