Private equity firms have largely avoided shopping for consumer businesses in 2013. In the nine months to September the number of European consumer buyouts fell to their lowest level in four years, according to data provider Dealogic.

There were 20 deals in the sector in Europe, with a combined disclosed deal value of $44 million, compared with 35 deals worth a total of $698 million in the same period last year. It was the quietest period for such deals since the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis in the first three quarters of 2009, when buyout firms agreed 12 buyouts worth a total of $134 million.