Much has been expected from the Middle East private equity market for the past decade, but a lot of that promise has failed to materialise and investment remains sparse. Last year saw less than a quarter of the £3.2 billion deal volume registered in 2006, according to figures from data firm Dealogic.

Academics at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania appear convinced that conditions are ripe for a renaissance in private equity activity - that was the thesis of a report entitled The Arab Spring and Private Equity: Time to Take the Plunge? last year. In it, the authors argued that the fall of autocratic states would spell economic and political reforms that could pave the way for "a more private equity-friendly future".