It’s not easy making a private equity firm stand out from its competitors. As firms buy and sell companies rather than producing a physical product to put on show, much of the emphasis in their branding is on their values.

Unfortunately for investors, not a lot of imagination appears to go into them. Take a look at the websites of many European firms and phrases like 'growth', 'supporting management teams' and 'value' frequently get bandied around with few specifics about what makes a firm distinct.