Fierce competition between private equity firms for investor cash is expected in 2016, with the number of firms seeking funds surging to a multi-year high in a market where the total amount raised for Europe-focused strategies has fallen for the second consecutive year.

At $70 billion, the total raised by private equity firms in 2015 for Europe-focused funds across venture capital, growth, buyout, fund-of-fund, secondaries and turnaround strategies was down $7 billion from $77 billion in 2014, according to data provider Preqin, having fallen from $86 billion in 2013.