The cycle has turned for the titans of private equity. The squeeze in global credit markets has eroded advantages over listed rivals and made debate about new rules less pressing. A proposed code of conduct for big UK buy-out groups now lacks the impact it might have had six months ago. But, if the code earns the industry greater public acceptance, it will have served a useful purpose.

This week’s report by Sir David Walker was commissioned when controversy over highly leveraged takeovers of household names, such as Alliance Boots, was at its height. It aims to lift the cloak of secrecy surrounding companies that spent £26bn on buy-out activity in 2006 and which employ 1.2m people, over 8 per cent of private sector workers.