Election Fever

The election is upon us. When this issue of unquote" hits your desk, political campaigns
throughout the country will be on the final stretch, as the three main parties try to
make their last push to woo those precious swing voters. At the time of writing, a hung
parliament is seen as the most likely outcome of the election, with no single party able
to secure an outright majority - a rare phenomenon in British politics, last seen a quarter
of a century ago.

The impact of all this on the UK private equity industry is difficult to judge. While
cynics might argue that manifestos and pre-election promises have little bearing on postelection policy, the potential for this election to produce a coalition government certainly adds to the vague sense of direction. For less cynical readers this unquote" issue includes an overview of the three main parties' policies on major issues such as taxation, banking and the environment as stated in their manifestos (see page 13), which are most likely to impact the private equity community.

That said, the prevailing mood in the industry suggests that, whatever the outcome
of the election, private equity professionals in the UK will continue to go about their
business as usual. So far, activity levels are up, the debt markets are thawing and even
the poorly drafted AIFM directive is showing signs of improvement - even if on a very
limited scale.

Therefore, of most importance will be measures taken to stimulate the economy and
curb the budget deficit, whichever party is in charge after 6 May. After all, a strong
macroeconomic outlook remains the lynchpin of a private equity portfolio.

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• UK / Ireland