With not a tinge of sadness, Jeff Clarke, chief executive of Travelport, owner of the Orbitz online travel site and the Galileo reservations system, explains why the stunning view of New York’s Central Park he enjoys from his office will soon be his no more.

“We can’t afford this,” he says, gazing over the trees and ponds in the muted colours of winter. Under its new owner, The Blackstone Group, Travelport will be moving to more modest quarters: perhaps a step towards recouping the $900m (£459m, €684m) in equity the buy-out firm spent to buy the company from Cendant, the US conglomerate, earlier this year.