The irrational exuberance of investors is a feature of stock markets going back to at least the 17th century. But the whirlwind that gripped markets five years ago this month was unprecedented, not only in its scale but in placing venture capital at the eye of the storm.

A trawl through the archives of Financial News from March 2000 is a stark reminder of how Europe's venture capital sector was caught up in the collective madness.