Great expectations

Itт€™s always interesting to gauge the mood of private equity practitioners and their expectations after the summer break. Two years ago, when the financial markets were in disarray following the Lehman collapse, deal activity came to a standstill and then trickled along for the subsequent quarters. Last year, the feeling in September was more akin to т€œthree quarters down, one to goт€ as most professionals couldnт€™t wait for 2009 to come to an end т€“ a year characterised by write-downs in portfolios and broken down deal negotiations.