Late last year, investment bank Morgan Stanley’s private equity arm started considering a sale of one of its portfolio companies, the vehicle outsourcer Zenith. But as well as seeking a suitable buyer, it had other ideas up its sleeve to boost its returns.

Morgan Stanley hired DC Advisory to look for potential suitors and a sale was agreed with private equity firm HgCapital last month. Yet, only a few weeks before the sale process started, Morgan Stanley had paid itself a dividend, effectively re-levering the company despite years of paying down the debt.