Exiting at IPO stage is not always the best option for private equity firms, according to Ed McKinley, UK managing director of Warburg Pincus, the global venture capital company.

The public stock markets used to be the main exit route for private equity firms seeking to realise the value of their investments. But the lack of appetite both for small to mid cap companies, as well as for old-fashioned old economy stocks, is leading them to consider other methods.