Adam Applegarth, the former chief executive of Northern Rock, has joined Apollo Global Management as a senior adviser to its European distressed debt fund, becoming the latest fallen corporate boss to seek refuge in private equity.

Two years after he left Northern Rock with an £840,000 pay-off and having come under fire from politicians for the bank’s nationalisation, Mr Applegarth has joined Apollo’s European Principal Fund, a €1bn (£912m) distressed debt vehicle.