The Europe 250
Executive Summary
Key takeaways from our analysis:
CVC has, once again, emerged as the #1 investor in Europe, managing a total estimated EV of €70bn, followed by KKR (€66bn) and EQT (€61bn). Collectively, the top 250 private equity firms in Europe manage an EV of €1.7tn.
American and British investors dominate the Europe 250 ranking, with sponsors headquartered in those regions managing an EV of €512bn (30% share) and €427bn (25%), respectively. German-HQ’d investors lag behind, managing an EV of just €46bn (3%).
The Europe 250 landscape is fairly concentrated at the upper end, with the top 25 investors managing 48% of the Europe 250 EV and the top 50 managing 65% of the EV. Investors established in the 1990s or before manage 77% of the total EV.
Leading the sector 50 rankings are Hg (TMT), CVC (Services and Industrials), EQT (Science & Health), KKR (Energy & Materials), Cinven (Financial Services) and TDR Capital (Consumer). North American investors are more active in Energy & Materials, Financial Services and TMT, compared to their European counterparts.
Leading the region 50 rankings are TDR Capital (UK&I), CVC (Nordics & CEE), Blackstone (Italy), Cinven (Iberia), Ardian (France), Advent International (DACH) and 3i (Benelux). UK & Ireland (UK&I) is the most international region, with 42% of EV in the region owned by North American investors.
Hg, Cinven and Astorg stand out as investors with high-growth, high-margin portfolios. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), TDR Capital and PAI Partners rank among the largest employers in Europe given their large retail/consumer-focused portfolio.
If you have any questions about the data or the report, do not hesitate to reach out to sid.jain@gain.pro.
Chapter 01: Europe 250 Ranking
CVC has, once again, emerged as the leading investor in Europe, managing a total estimated EV of €70bn, followed by KKR (managing an EV of €66bn) and EQT (€61bn).
Other investors in the top 10 include Blackstone (€58bn), Cinven (€45bn), Ardian (€41bn), Carlyle (€33bn), TDR Capital (€32bn), Advent International (€32bn) and Bain Capital (€31bn).
Collectively, the top 250 investors in Europe manage an estimated EV of €1.7tn. On average, they have a portfolio EBITDA of €94m and manage 26 companies each.
Over the last 6 years, Europe 250 investors have invested in nearly twice as many new portfolio companies as they have exited. Specifically, there have been 5,587 new investments and 2,973 exits among these sponsors.
The table below lists all the top 250 investors in Europe. Use the search bar or the arrows at the top to navigate through the ranking.
Dominant Investor HQs
American and British investors dominate the Europe 250 ranking. Sponsors headquartered in those regions manage an estimated EV of €512bn (30% share) and €427bn (25%), respectively. German-based investors are underrepresented despite it being the foremost economy in Europe, managing an EV of €46bn (3%).
By city, London is the largest hub for the Europe 250 investors, followed by Paris, New York, Milan and Munich. The largest 3 metropolises constitute ~41% of all HQs followed by the long tail of other large European and North American cities.
Only a few large investors in the ranking are domiciled outside the US, UK or France. Notable ones are EQT Group (€61bn EV, Stockholm), Triton (€23bn EV, Luxembourg), GIC (€23bn EV, Singapore), Partners Group (€20bn EV, Baar), Macquarie (€19bn EV, Sydney), Nordic Capital (€17bn EV, Stockholm) and Waterland (€17bn EV, Bussum).
Portfolio Differences: North American vs. European Investors
North American investors manage a disproportionate share of high-value private assets in Europe. They have a median portfolio EBITDA (€90m) more than 3x that of their European peers (€29m). They control 33% of Europe's 250 EV but occupy only 22% of spots.
North American sponsors typically invest in larger assets, which are often intermediated by large banks. They hold 38% of PE assets with EBITDA >€200m but only 7% of those with EBITDA <€10m.
North American investors typically allocate a greater portion of assets to the UK compared to their European counterparts. Conversely, they invest less in the Nordics, French and Benelux markets, where regional investors give them stiff competition and fewer large assets come to market.
By sector, North American investors overweight TMT, Financial Services and Energy & Materials. They underallocate to Services, Industrials and Healthcare due to their localized nature, smaller sizes and regulatory challenges.
Investor Concentration
The Europe 250 landscape is fairly concentrated at the upper end, with the top 25 investors managing roughly equal EV to the next 225 combined. Private equity firms, like other large asset managers, benefit from inherent scale advantages, and recent fundraising trends have also favored larger investors.
Private equity remains a scale game, which takes time and commitment to build. This is evidenced by the distribution of managed EV based on investors' founding year. Investors established in the 1990s or before manage 77% of the total EV. 9 out of the top 10 largest private equity firms in the Europe 250 ranking were founded during or before the 1990s. Hg, established through a 2000 spin-out, and TDR Capital, founded in 2002, stand out as larger younger entrants.
Chapter 02: Sector 50 Rankings
This table showcases the top 50 private equity firms ranked by sector across Europe. Use the buttons to navigate between the sector rankings.
Leading the sector 50 rankings are Hg (TMT), CVC (Services and Industrials), EQT (Science & Health), KKR (Energy & Materials), Cinven (Financial Services) and TDR Capital (Consumer). Hg in TMT and TDR Capital in Consumer predominantly target those sectors, representing 71% and 69% of their portfolio, respectively.
Dominant Investor HQs
American and British investors dominate most sectors in terms of EV managed, alternating between #1 and #2 positions. Sweden, bolstered by EQT’s dominance, ranks #2 in Science and Health. France secures the #3 spots across all sectors, except Science & Health.
Compared to their European counterparts, North American investors are more active in Energy & Materials, Financial Services and TMT. They aren’t as active in Science & Health, Services and Consumer where European investors make up for the majority of the EV.
Sponsor Consolidation
Services, Consumer and TMT stand out as the largest markets by sector in terms of total EV managed by PE investors. Several factors contribute to this distribution, including a high asset availability in the Consumer sector, a pool of rapidly growing companies in TMT and buy-and-build suitability in Services.
Consumer, Financial Services and Energy & Materials emerge as the most concentrated sectors in investor ownership, with the top 5 investors accounting for ~44% of their respective sector 50 EV. On the other hand, Services, Industrials and TMT exhibit a broader investor base, with multiple investors participating across assets of varying sizes.
Chapter 03: Region 50 Rankings
This table showcases the top 50 private equity firms ranked by region across Europe. Use the buttons to navigate between the regional rankings.
Note: Regional acronym definitions for regions can be found in the glossary.
Leading the regional 50 rankings are TDR Capital (UK&I), CVC (Nordics & CEE), Blackstone (Italy), Cinven (Iberia), Ardian (France), Advent International (DACH) and 3i (Benelux). Ardian's focus on the French market (52% of European portfolio), TDR Capital's on the UK (69%) and Waterland’s on Benelux (49%) highlight the strong regional preferences of these investors.
PE investors invest quite broadly across various European cities and towns, with London, Paris, Stockholm, Milan and Madrid being the leading centres. This is largely due to investors’ focus on Services, TMT and Consumer companies, which are usually headquartered in large cities. In the DACH region especially, investments are distributed across the country with Munich, Berlin and Hamburg being the major hubs.
Dominant Investor HQs
American and British investors are among the top 3 across all regions in terms of managed EV. France, Benelux, Nordics and CEE stand out as markets that are owned largely by local investors.
UK & Ireland is the most internationalized region in terms of investor interest, with ~42% of EV in the region owned by North American sponsors. Nordics, CEE and France regions are the least penetrated by international investors, driven by a strong presence of domestic investors in France and Nordics and a relatively small size of the CEE market.
Domestic investors own 51% of the total managed EV in Nordics and 48% in France. In France, even global players like Ardian have a strong domestic focus, with 56% of their European PE investments in the region. In comparison, Iberia, Italy and DACH lag in investments from their domestic investors.
Sponsor Consolidation
UK&I and DACH are the two most valuable markets in terms of total EV managed by PE investors. The UK has strong Finance, Tech and Services sectors while DACH is known for its industrial prowess. Both markets have well-established investment ecosystems, making them attractive to international investors.
The most consolidated regions in terms of investor ownership are Iberia and Italy. The top 5 investors in those regions account for over 40% of their regionally managed EV. On the other end, France, DACH and UK&I, which are also more mature, are the least consolidated, with the top 5 investors accounting for 31%, 30% and 29% of managed EV, respectively.
France is a consortium-driven PE market with many investors taking minority stakes. 49% of the majority PE-backed assets in France have 2 or more co-owners, with 23% having 3 or more. This is in contrast to other European countries, where >80% of PE assets are owned by a single owner.
Chapter 04: Portfolio Insights
In this section, we explore the investment portfolios of the top 30 PE investors in Europe, analyzing key metrics such as growth rates, profitability, buy-and-build activity, holding periods, EBITDA range and the sector/regional makeup of their European investments.
Note: We exclude from this analysis investors who have less than 5 data points for a particular metric.
By Sector & Region
The portfolio of top European investors is generally well-diversified across sectors. However, several firms specialize by sector. Hg focuses heavily on TMT, with 71% of its portfolio in this sector. TDR Capital allocates 69% of its portfolio to Consumer. Waterland and Apax Partners specialize in Services, which make up 39% and 37% of their portfolio, respectively, while Astorg holds 37% of its assets in TMT. Lastly, PAI Partners and 3i are also Consumer heavy, making up 49% and 37% of their portfolio, respectively.
The UK&I stands out as the leading investment destination for top investors in Europe, closely followed by DACH and France. At the investor level, distinctive strategies start to emerge, with Ardian's focus on the French market (56% of European portfolio), TDR Capital's specialization in the UK (69%) and Triton's emphasis on the Nordics (39%) and DACH (37%) regions.
By Size
Hellman & Friedman (H&F), Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and GIC stand out for their exceptionally high median portfolio EBITDA figures. Both H&F and CD&R do larger but fewer deals. Meanwhile, GIC invests mostly in minority stakes. On the other end of the spectrum, Waterland, a leading Dutch investor, majorly invests in small to mid-sized services assets.
The preference for minority versus majority stakes differs among the top investors. Investments for GIC, ICG, Ardian and H&F lean more towards minority stakes while Triton, PAI Partners, Waterland, 3i and Advent International are more majority-focused.
Given the size and sector preference, Waterland stands out as a big buyer of family-owned businesses. Astorg and Partners Group, on the other hand, are more active in the sponsor-to-sponsor market. Lastly, Advent International, Macquarie, Apollo Global, H&F and Bain Capital jump out for their focus on carve-outs.
Holding Periods
Apax Partners, PAI Partners, ICG and Astorg tend to have shorter holding periods, with a median of approximately 4 years. In contrast, Nordic Capital, 3i and Partners Group are longer-term holders, with a median of around 7 years.
Growth Rates
Hg, Cinven and Astorg stand out as investors with high-growth, high-margin portfolios. Hg and Astorg both have a high concentration of fast-growing software businesses, with Hg also being one of the most active consolidators. Cinven, on the other hand, has a more broad portfolio focused on pharma, manufacturing, E-commerce, FinTech, restaurants and more.
Hg, GIC, BC Partners, ICG and Apax Partners are investors with the highest buy-and-build activity in their portfolio. Also note how all top investors in the chart have above average buy-and-build count compared to a broader European peer average.
CVC, EQT and KKR stand out as the leading job creators with a high FTE growth rate. Meanwhile, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), TDR Capital and PAI Partners rank among the largest employers given their large retail/consumer-focused portfolio.
Glossary
Benelux: Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
CEE: Central and Eastern Europe
DACH: Deutschland (Germany), Austria and Confœderatio Helvetica (Switzerland)
EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
EV: Enterprise value
HQ: Headquarters
Iberia: Portugal and Spain
M&A: Mergers and acquisitions
Nordics: Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden
PE: Private equity
SMEs: Small and medium-sized enterprises
UK&I: United Kingdom and Ireland
US: United States
Methodology
We take a novel approach to our ranking, which is based on total managed enterprise value (EV) in Europe. At Gain.pro, we track over 13,600 investor portfolios in detail. We estimate the EV for each company in an investor's portfolio by multiplying its EBITDA with the investor’s estimated ownership share and a predicted exit multiple. The total EV is then aggregated at the investor level.
Where EBITDA numbers are not available, we estimate it based on the assets revenue and investors’ other holdings.
We only consider majority buyout and minority-owned PE assets HQ’d in Europe for our rankings. We exclude any VC investments and publicly listed stakes.
We leverage the assets’ sector, size, growth rate, margin profile and cash generation to predict its exit multiple.
Further, we include only active investors in pan-European ranking with i) 5 or more portfolio companies in Europe; ii) 5 or more entries since 2019 and iii) At least 3 positive portfolio EBITDA values.
For the sector and regional rankings, we include investors with i) 3 or more portfolio companies in that sector/region; ii) 3 or more entries in that sector/region since 2019 and iii) 2 or more positive portfolio EBITDA values.
Unless otherwise stated, all metrics and calculations are based on an investor's portfolio in Europe only. We excluded investors with <5 data points for any aggregate metrics in the portfolio insights section.
