Bank fees from private equity at 14-year low
UK investment banks saw their fees from arranging private equity buyouts shrink dramatically in the past three months to the lowest level since 1997, data yesterday showed.
The UK slipped to fourth place in Europe for buyout-related fees in the third quarter from first place a year ago, claiming only a 9.6 per cent share of the region’s market.
The UK’s banks made net revenues of $81m (£52m) in the quarter, data from Dealogic showed – a 62.5 per cent slump on the same period in 2010, when banks made $216m from private equity deals. The UK held the top spot in Europe for nine months from September last year, commanding more than a fifth of the market.
French banks took the top spot for fees from private equity deals in the third quarter, banking $241m in revenues and taking a 28.4 per cent market share. Italy and Germany saw the second and third-highest fee levels.
European private equity houses have had an increasingly difficult year as the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis has forced them to either postpone or abandon transactions.
Banks in Europe’s ten biggest markets for fees made a total $847m in the third quarter, lower than the prior quarter but higher than a year ago.