Industry leaders have taken a key step towards defusing the controversy surrounding the impact of private equity investors after the Trade Unions Congress opened its doors to host a discussion with representatives from eight buyout houses and politicians from across Europe.

In the first of two roundtable discussions between the two warring factions, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber met with executives from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Apax Partners, CVC, Permira, 3i, Hermes Private Equity, Isis Equity Partners and Lyceum Capital at its headquarters in Congress House.