Guy Hands has put EMI’s troublesome tenure under Terra Firma down to sudden market changes and the timing of the deal – rather than his company’s strategy.

In an opinion piece on banking regulations written for the Financial Times, the Terra Firma boss remembers a time when money “poured into the private equity industry” and there was pressure to find ever larger deals.

“At Terra Firma we believed EMI presented a great investment opportunity, which is why we committed ...