Five years ago, the most active financial advisers to Europe’s private equity buyouts were the usual suspects. Citigroup topped the table and JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs were not far behind. But since 2007 a new set of advisers, led by Rothschild, have quietly taken market share.

Citigroup's fall in the rankings has been the most dramatic. At the peak of the market five years ago, it was one of four advisers, led by JP Morgan, that advised Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on the £11bn buyout of UK chemist chain Alliance Boots. The deal was the biggest in Europe. The Wall Street bank was also involved in the listing of KKR Private Equity Investors on Euronext's Amsterdam exchange.