At times it can be hard to differentiate between the various troughs, dips, depressions and downturns that have afflicted the UK corporate arena in recent years, when it seems that for each welcome flurry of activity there is a more sustained hangover. Firms on the continent have fared even worse, with European M&A at a 10-year low.

Likewise in Scotland, times have been tough for even the country’s most established corporate players.