Video: David Currie - industry needs liquidity

Currie says there are three main challenges facing the industry in the next three years: how to raise capital; how to deal with regulation; and how to present what private equity does to a wider stakeholder universe.

With a shift from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pension schemes, liquidity is of paramount importance – making long-term commitments increasingly tough to swallow. "The industry should find a way to increase its liquidity to be able to tap into defined-contribution pension schemes, which have more strict requirements as regards liquidity," Currie says.

Indeed the industry has been shifting in that direction. "Some groups are building permanent capital bases and may be doing so so that they have an alternative for if and when traditional fundraising becomes impossible," he says. Here he points to investment trusts as a successful model the industry has seen, though points out the discount to NAV remains a concern for investors.

It is also crucial the industry addresses public concerns. "The market ignored the fact it was getting much bigger," Currie says when asked what his biggest criticism is after 33 years in the industry. "Before the crash, not a day went by where you didn't get press coverage of a private equity-backed business. Some was negative but private equity maintained the mindset 'We are private, so go away.' This has to change."

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