US private equity firms found a silver lining in Brexit and pre-election uncertainty in the UK last year, using the opportunity to snap up high quality assets at attractive prices.

Buyout funds based in the US spent £14.2bn on UK companies in 2019, up 53% year-on-year from £9.3bn, according to data from global law firm Mayer Brown. The depressed valuations of UK businesses relative to their European peers was one of the main attractions, at a time when the high prices of potential targets have become a concern for the industry.