2025年度欧洲私募股权细分报告

Contents Introduction3 Institutional Research Group Nicolas Moura, CFA, CAIASenior Research Analyst,EMEA Private Capitalnicolas.moura@pitchbook.com Deals4 Spotlight: Unlocking UK Pension Capitalfor Private Markets9 pbinstitutionalresearch@pitchbook.com Published on 16 January 2026 Exits11 Fundraising15 Introduction holding periods also declined for the first time since 2020,falling to 5.8 years, indicating improving exit mechanicswithin portfolios. European PE recorded a landmark year in 2025, withdealmaking reaching record levels.Total deal value rose14.4% YoY, while deal count increased 12.8% YoY, supportedby a combination of improving macroeconomic conditions,supportive policy developments, and renewed investorconfidence. Monetary policy became a key tailwind overthe course of the year, with four rate cuts each from theEuropean Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE)as inflation moved closer to target levels. Lower borrowingcosts improved LBO economics and increased sponsors’willingness to underwrite larger transactions. Megadealsaccounted for 31.9% of total deal value in 2025, levelslast seen in 2021 through early 2022. US investors playedan increasingly central role, participating in nearly 1 in 5European PE deals and accounting for 34.8% of total dealvalue. While the European PE market remains smaller thanthat of the US, its reliance on US sponsors, particularly formegadeals, continues to underpin growth. Despite these improvements, challenges persist.Distributions as a share of NAV remained below 20%, wellunder the long-term average, while the deals/exits ratiorose to 2.5x, highlighting a growing imbalance betweendeployment and realisations. IPO exits continued tounderperform, with exit count and value falling sharply YoY,reinforcing the view that IPOs are likely to return structurallysmaller and no longer serve as the default exit route. Instead,sponsor-to-sponsor exits played an increasingly central role.This shift underscores PE’s expanding role within EuropeanM&A, where it now represents half of total deal value.Regionally, DACH led exit activity with a record year, while theNordics and the UK & Ireland also improved as exit marketsgradually reopened. 2025 saw a continued rise in corporate carveouts, whichreached record levels. Carveouts accounted for roughly 1in 10 PE deals, driven by corporate portfolio optimisation ina higher-rate environment and sponsors’ ability to generatevalue through operational transformation. Regionally, the UK& Ireland retained a clear leadership position, accounting for31.6% of European deal value, while Germany overtook Franceto become Europe’s second-largest PE market. Sector-wise,healthcare and financial services led the megadeal recovery.With momentum strengthening into H2 and extending into2026, European PE enters the new year on firmer footing,supported by capital inflows, improving sentiment, and amore predictable macroeconomic backdrop. European PE fundraising slowed in 2025 after back-to-backrecord years in 2023 and 2024, broadly in line with globaltrends.The slowdown was driven primarily by the absence ofmegafund closures, with no funds closed above €4.6 billionin 2025. Fund launches also declined for a third consecutiveyear, reflecting tighter capital conditions and weakerdistributions. As a result, fundraising became increasinglyconcentrated among established managers, withexperienced firms accounting for 85.6% of capital raised.Despite the broader slowdown, the middle market recordeda record year for capital raised, with investor demandincreasingly focused on funds sized between €1 billionand €5 billion. Growth-expansion strategies may regainmomentum in 2026 as the macroeconomic environment hasstabilised and several growth-expansion funds look poised toreach targets in 2026. Regionally, the UK & Ireland remainedEurope’s dominant fundraising hub, accounting for close tohalf of capital raised, while France & Benelux emerged asa relative bright spot, raising more capital across a greaternumber of funds than in 2024. Exit activity in Europe delivered a mixed but improvingpicture in 2025.Exit value increased 10% YoY, marking thesecond-strongest year on record, although it remained27.6% below the 2021 peak. Encouragingly, momentumimproved materially in the second half of the year. H2 exitvalue was double that of H1, signalling a gradual uncloggingof the exit market. All five of the largest PE-backed IPOsin Europe occurred in H2, pointing to renewed optimismin the IPO pipeline heading into 2026. At the same time,GP-led secondaries reached a record level, providing animportant source of liquidity for GPs and LPs. Median exit Deals A record year of dealmaking 2025 was a record year for European PE deal activity, whichsaw deal value rise 14.4% YoY and deal count increase 12.8%YoY. Activity over the year was shaped by a combination oftailwinds and headwinds affecting the asset class. On the positive side, monetary policy became increasin