Scott Adelson got his first taste of the differences between US and British attitudes when Houlihan Lokey looked to get a toehold in Europe.

“One of my favourite meetings was with a colleague who said that companies in Europe have been around longer than my country and that private equity just wasn’t going to work,” its chief executive tells Financial News. “I said: ‘Maybe you’re right, but I’m not sure genetics are the best way to choose who runs a company.’”