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The debate over the desirability of private equity has clearly got under the skin of Philip Buscombe. In a letter to the FT, the chief executive of Lyceum Capital points out that more than 70 per cent of buyouts in the UK and Europe are not the big ticket, big number deals on which much of the current discussion has focused.

Instead they are small and mid-market buyouts, typically priced at £5m to £100m, and often involving acquisitions from family owners. They are not hostile, they do not feature exotic financing and they do not magic returns by re-engineering balance sheets. What they do involve is major investment in people and capital, typically over a three to six year time frame.

Oh, and at firms like Lyceum senior partners are expected to put their own cash on the line to back buyouts.

“Small and mid-market buyouts are about growth, not asset stripping, and many of us are concerned that the poor communication of a few larger buyout houses may damage the very real contribution that smaller and mid-market buyouts make to the UK and European economics,” Mr Buscombe adds.