The $5bn (€3.55bn) loan backing Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' buyout of payments processor First Data has attracted more than enough demand from investors, providing a fillip to the leveraged finance market which has been shunned by bankers and institutional buyers for the past three months.

According to debt bankers close to the financing, the order book for the senior loan has hit close to $7bn (€9.8bn), showing appetite for leveraged loans is tentatively returning.