The use of mezzanine finance to restructure companies in Europe has quadrupled in the past year to €4.8bn ($5.1m) as private equity firms are forced to turn to alternative means of releasing capital, a new survey has revealed.

Mezzanine Management Monitor, a survey published by Mezzanine Management, the European mezzanine provider, found the mezzanine market experienced a record rise in the second half of last year, thanks to a handful of very large deals.