The old adage that necessity breeds invention still holds true for the private equity community, where a sluggish mid-market deal market has caused sponsors to respond with creative financing techniques.

The number of UK buyouts worth up to $500 million in the first half of the year fell by 30% to 40, compared with 57 in the same period last year, according to data from Dealogic. Deal values inched up 3% from $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion last year.