Private equity companies stand to benefit from the current market turbulence, staff at some of the UK smaller leveraged buy out firms have claimed.
According to executives at Dunedin, PPM Capital, Matrix Private Equity Partners and Close Growth Capital, the current slump in the markets means that takeover targets can be acquired for considerably less than would have been the case six months ago.
Bill Crossnan, head of Close Growth Capital, said that times of turmoil are the optimum time to invest and that as companies' worth dips they will be within the reach of smaller operators in the private equity sector.
He told the Financial Times: "The UK is pregnant with value. I have been through three really bad recessions and if I have learnt anything, it is that now is the time to invest."
Mr Crossman's positive reading of the situation was echoed by Ross Marshall, chief executive at Dunedin, who predicted that the state of the markets will create fresh opportunities to take some smaller companies private.
"There will be some great take-private opportunities for some companies that have been hit hard by this wave of selling in the equity markets," he commented.
