The Europe 250
Ranking the largest private equity investors in Europe | 2025 Edition
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The Europe
250
Ranking the largest private equity investors in Europe | 2025 Edition
Table of contents
Portfolio Differences
Investor Concentration
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Executive Summary
Welcome to the 2025 edition of our Europe 250 ranking report. In this report, we rank and analyze the largest and most active private equity (PE) investors in Europe.
We take a new approach to our ranking, which is based on total managed enterprise value (EV) in Europe. Ranking by managed EV, rather than funds raised, enables us to focus on investors’ European portfolio, allowing us to dive deep into specific regions and sectors of investment.
Further, this approach helps us capture large and active investors who do not follow traditional fundraising cycles/structures and are often overlooked by other industry rankings.
Welcome to the 2025 edition of our Europe 250 ranking report. In this report, we rank and analyze the largest and most active private equity (PE) investors in Europe.
We take a new approach to our ranking, which is based on total managed enterprise value (EV) in Europe. Ranking by managed EV, rather than funds raised, enables us to focus on investors’ European portfolio, allowing us to dive deep into specific regions and sectors of investment.
Further, this approach helps us capture large and active investors who do not follow traditional fundraising cycles/structures and are often overlooked by other industry rankings.
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.
Table of contents
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.
See who tops the charts
Get Full Access
See who tops the charts
Get Full Access
See who tops the charts
Discover the largest investors.
Read the Report
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).
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.
Who dominates in each sector?
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Who dominates in each sector?
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Who dominates in each sector?
See where PEs rank in each industry.
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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.
Get the full report
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Get the full report
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Who dominates in each region?
Discover the largest PEs by region.
Read the Report
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.
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Get the full report
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See inside the top PEs portfolios
Access portfolio trends and insights.
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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.
Related Research
Discover our proprietary reports on investors, assets and PE deals.
Related Research
Discover our proprietary reports on investors, assets and PE deals.
Related Research
Discover our proprietary reports on investors, assets and PE deals.
Executive Summary
Welcome to the 2025 edition of our Europe 250 ranking report. In this report, we rank and analyze the largest and most active private equity (PE) investors in Europe.
We take a new approach to our ranking, which is based on total managed enterprise value (EV) in Europe. Ranking by managed EV, rather than funds raised, enables us to focus on investors’ European portfolio, allowing us to dive deep into specific regions and sectors of investment.
Further, this approach helps us capture large and active investors who do not follow traditional fundraising cycles/structures and are often overlooked by other industry rankings.
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.
Table of contents
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.
See who tops the charts
Discover the largest investors in Europe
Read the Report
See who tops the charts
Discover the largest investors in Europe
Read the Report
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).
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.
Who dominates in each sector?
See where the largest investors rank in each industry
Read the Report
Who dominates in each sector?
See where the largest investors rank in each industry
Read the Report
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.
Who dominated in each region?
Discover the largest investors by region
Read the Report
Who dominated in each region?
Discover the largest investors by region
Read the Report
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.
See inside the top investors' portfolios
Gain insights into trends like holding periods, growth rates and more
Read the Report
See inside the top investors' portfolios
Gain insights into trends like holding periods, growth rates and more
Read the Report
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.
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