The boss of an industry body representing most of Britain's private equity groups resigned on Thursday, just two days after being grilled by British politicians on the sector's much criticised practices.
"Peter Linthwaite has asked to stand down as chief executive of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association with immediate effect," the BVCA said in a statement that did not reveal the reasons for his departure.
The private equity sector mostly comprises investment funds or banks which buy stakes in non-listed companies that are then generally broken up and sold for a profit.
Linthwaite had been chief executive for two years, during which the private equity industry has grown into a formidable power in international financial markets. With its success, however, has come controversy and the sector often stands accused by trade unions of slashing jobs and being a danger to the stability of the financial world.
On Tuesday, a committee of British MPs accused the private equity industry of being evasive. Controversy over the effect of private equity-funded take-overs on jobs, pay, pensions and working conditions sparked an investigation by the Treasury Select Committee into the regulation and tax regime of the sector.
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