When KPMG corporate finance, the mid-market mergers and acquisitions advisory specialist, pitched for the mandate to sell Maplin, a private equity-owned UK electronics chain, it found itself going head to head with Goldman Sachs.

KPMG won the mandate and Maplin was sold for £244m (€351m). However, the appearance of the US bank showed the eagerness with which big investment banks chased smaller deals in the absence of blockbuster M&A transactions. As private equity firms drove dealflow, investment banks were happy to handle small sale mandates for their financial sponsor clients to demonstrate loyalty - and generate fees - in a fiercely competitive market.