Private equity firms once had a script, of sorts. Buy an asset, load it up with debt, fix it and then flip it. But in recent years, weak M&A markets and soldered IPO windows have plugged the exit — leaving trillions of unsold assets weighing down private equity portfolios.

Sponsors hope that improving market conditions will unblock the pipes. In Europe a number of companies are considering listing this year, including Germany’s Stada, Asker Healthcare and Dutch telecoms group Odido Holding, according to a Bloomberg report.

But markets are only half the story. Europe’s Stoxx index is up 12 per cent over the past 12 months. It now trades at 15.5 times forward earnings, above its 10-year average. Yet throughout 2024, the number of companies that braved the stock exchange was tiny. Only €64bn was raised — exactly half the average annual amount over the previous decade.