Vince Cable has made worried noises about foreign takeovers of iconic British businesses, but the sell-out continues apace. This week we learned that most of our largest insurance groups are now foreign-owned.

Could the same, slow drift offshore soon take hold in the legal sector? As the number of ABS applications approaches 100, it’s becoming clear that Kenneth Clarke was not exaggerating when he hailed the liberalisation of the legal sector as a ‘big bang’ comparable to the financial services revolution of 1986. Headline-hogging deals so far have seen top 100 outfit RJW taken over by Australian pioneer Slater & Gordon; while QualitySolicitors and now personal injury umbrella firm Parabis Group have been swallowed up by private equity houses.

As a breed, of course, private equity firms are notoriously indifferent to national borders - their owners aren’t called ‘masters of the universe’ for nothing.

At a bellwether conference on M&As this week, meanwhile, we hear that big US private equity outfits are running the rule over English law firms - in insurance, major players such as Carlyle and Hanover have already moved in for established names such as RAC and Chaucer.

And what about cash-laden investors in the BRIC countries (also eyeing major UK insurers)? It might be a while before a Chinese sovereign wealth fund buys an English law firm, but don’t bet against it.