About 20 initial public offerings of sponsor-backed European companies have been thrown into doubt after a drop in appetite in the public markets caused a string of processes to be pulled or postponed last week. A potential listing of foreign exchange provider Travelex, which is part-owned by Apax Partners, now looks unlikely to happen this year, according to a source.

Blackstone Group has no plans to list UK restaurant group Tragus and food producer United Biscuits, which it co-owns with PAI Partners, and Bridgepoint Capital and Permira have no plans to list Virgin Active, according to sources.