Equistone Partners Europe

About Equistone Partners Europe

Equistone Partners Europe is a pan-European mid-market private equity firm with approximately €5-6 billion of assets under management across active funds as of December 2024, headquartered in London with offices in Paris, Munich, Zurich, Manchester and Amsterdam. The firm originated as Barclays Private Equity in 2002 before becoming independent through a management buyout from Barclays Capital in November 2011, when it was rebranded Equistone Partners Europe. The firm remains a partner-owned independent platform with deep European mid-market heritage.

Investment thesis

Equistone deploys capital through 14 successor funds in total platform history across legacy BPE and Equistone vintages, currently investing through Fund VI (€2.8 billion, 2018 vintage) and Fund VII (in raising and partial deployment), with strategic focus on mid-market buyouts including change-of-ownership and growth deals. Equity tickets range from €25 million to €200 million in enterprise values of €50 million to €500 million. Sector deployment spans industrials and manufacturing, business services, technology, consumer and retail, healthcare and financial services across Benelux, France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK. The platform has completed more than 180 investments since 2002.

Recent activity

Recent realised exits include logistics and freight forwarding (2026), industrials and sanitary fittings (2025), consumer and footwear retail (2024) and consumer and sportswear retail (2024). Recent acquisitions include BVT Bremer Verkehrstechnik (industrials and transport technology, November 2024) and QuestGates (insurance services, August 2024). Equistone continues to deploy capital across its Fund VII vintage while pursuing selective bolt-on M&A across the existing portfolio. Detailed buyer names and multiple data available on Pro at €49/month.