Barclays Private Equity has exited from its investment in Ravenstock Tam, a UK specialist equipment hire company, in the latest sign that the gloom in the private equity industry in Europe is starting to lift.

The sale by Barclays Private Equity is the latest in a flurry of exits in the past few weeks, mainly to trade buyers. Permira, formerly Schroder Ventures, successfully sold Domoservice to CGST Save, while Bridgepoint Capital and CVC managed to sell the cafe business of Parisa, the off-licence chain, to SFI Group, the UK pub operator.