The report by Sir David Walker, the industry’s first attempt at transparency, followed criticism from politicians, media and trade unions that buyout firms were making money by shedding staff and stripping assets to fund large debt loads.

The guidelines required companies owned by private equity firms to disclose information on areas such as their financial position and risks: if most of their revenue came from the UK, they were acquired for at least £300m (€345m), or £500m if through a secondary buyout, and they had more than 1,000 employees.