Short-term buyout returns in the first half of the year dropped off, but venture capital helped overall private equity returns to continue outperforming the public markets, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The Thomson Reuters' European Private Equity Performance Index is based on the latest quarterly statistics from its private equity performance database, analysing the cash flows and returns for over 1,395 European venture capital and private equity partnerships with a total capitalisation of €332.9bn. The index showed that for the period ending June 30, 2011, private equity performance in Europe showed positive returns across one, five, 10 and 20-year investment horizons.