The UK buy-out market has got off to a shaky start this year with only £3.1bn (€4.5bn) of deals recorded since January 1, according to statistics recorded by the Centre for Management Buy-Out Research. The figure is less than half that of the same period last year.

The centre, sponsored by Barclays Private Equity and accounting firm Deloitte, attributes the slowing market to a dramatic decline in public-to-private deals.