It has been a bumper few years for British private-equity firms, with a record level of deal-making. In 2021, the number of companies bought out by the major houses hit an all-time record of 803 for the UK, with a combined value of £46bn. Supermarket chain Morrisons was bought out by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, as was construction giant John Laing, the telecoms firm Talk Talk, the security company G4S, and car-breakdown service provider
