Private equity funds bought £11.9billion worth of European oil and gas businesses last year as the shift to renewable energy left industry assets looking cheap. 

UK businesses made up five of the 12 deals completed in Europe, totalling around £2.4billion, according to research from law firm Mayer Brown.

Mayer Brown partner Bob Palmer noted that the pandemic, which initially caused crude oil prices to drop sharply, had made riskier assets ‘much more attractive’.

Read more: This is Money