This year looks set to be a record year for buy-out investment, says Jonathan Russell, head of global buy-outs at 3i, the global venture capital firm.

More than $58bn (&euro64bn) went into buy-outs globally last year, a fall of more than 26% on the $79bn invested in 1999, according to the Global Private Equity Survey compiled by 3i and PricewaterhouseCoopers.