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PE Secondaries Companies in the UK: 36 Active Firms (2026)
PE secondaries companies in the UK buy, sell and advise on existing private equity fund interests and continuation vehicles.
Mandates usually sit with private markets investment teams, LP portfolio managers, fund finance functions and GP-led transaction teams rather than central procurement or broad software-style buying committees. Typical customers are institutional investors, financial sponsors and fund managers that need valuation work, transaction execution or portfolio-management capacity around illiquid private fund positions. Engagements tend to be advisory retainers, success-fee mandates, discretionary investment arrangements or narrow project work tied to a sale process. The buyer profile is therefore mid-market and institutional, with trust, conflicts handling and execution history carrying more weight than volume marketing.
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36 PE secondaries companies are actively trading in the UK, so the cohort is small even within private capital services. Reported employment is 162 people, pointing to a market made up mainly of specialist teams rather than large operating platforms. That fits the transaction shape: origination, pricing, diligence and execution can sit with compact teams, while legal, tax and fund administration work is often coordinated around each process. The result is a concentrated services niche, not a broad employer category.
Market structure is relationship-led and documentation-heavy. Regulatory exposure tends to follow the role performed: investment management, arranging transactions, valuation support and advisory work each carry different permissions, conflicts and disclosure considerations. Continuation vehicles add a further governance layer because the fund manager is often on both sides of the process, so fairness opinions, independent pricing work and investor communications matter. For researchers, the practical distinction is between principal investors taking balance-sheet or fund risk and advisers earning transaction-related fees.
Further development appears likely to be uneven. Specialist advisers and managers with credible buyer relationships tend to retain an advantage, because secondary processes rely on proprietary access, pricing judgement and confidence over execution. New entrants may find it difficult to scale without a recognisable private capital network, while incumbent private markets groups can add secondaries capability alongside fund advisory or investment management work. GP-led activity has been the more visible source of complexity, and that points to gradual professionalisation rather than a broad shift towards high-volume, standardised transactions.
36
Active firms
2026
3
Above £5M
Revenue band
5
Since 2022
Recent incorporations
Key facts
About 8% of the trading cohort reports turnover above £5M (3 of 36 firms) — the rest sits below that revenue band.
13% of the cohort was incorporated since 2022 (5 firms), so a sizeable share is in its first few filing cycles.
PE secondaries focus on buying and selling existing private equity fund interests rather than making primary fund commitments.
Continuation vehicles give fund managers a route to extend ownership while offering investors a potential exit from otherwise illiquid exposure.
Advisory work in this segment is usually relationship-led, with pricing, diligence and investor consent shaping transaction timetables.
Buyers and advisers tend to serve fund managers and investors rather than broad corporate procurement teams.
Top UK PE secondaries companies
COLLER IP CAPITAL LIMITED
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsManages investment funds focused on the secondary market for private assets, particularly private equity and private credit. Acquires existing fund interests and portfolios, providing liquidity to…
Serves institutional limited partners, secondary sellers and private investors globally, including investors seeking liquidity from private asset holdings or exposure to private equity and private…
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed
Location
HOLLYPORT LIMITED
Trajectory
3y · 2023–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 3 filingsProvides management and investment advisory services focused on private equity secondaries. Acquires and manages portfolios of mature private equity fund interests from investors seeking liquidity,…
Serves institutional investors and private equity fund investors seeking liquidity for mature, legacy private equity holdings, including portfolios across fund types and geographies.
Financial Health
StableStable · -87% CAGR over 2y
Location
CLIFFWAY LIMITED
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsManages investments in private equity secondaries, focusing on acquiring diversified portfolios of interests in established private equity funds. Uses proprietary data and analytics systems to…
Serves institutional investors seeking private equity secondaries exposure, especially large investment institutions and long-term strategic partners investing in diversified portfolios of private…
Financial Health
StableStable · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
Operates an online marketplace for buying and selling limited partner stakes in private investment funds. Provides a digital platform for LP‑led secondary transactions, connecting accredited…
Serves professional limited partners, accredited investors, general partners, asset managers, banks and agents involved in private fund secondary transactions across strategies and regions.
Location
Coller Capital
Manages investment funds focused on the secondary market for private assets. Acquires existing interests in private equity and private credit funds from investors seeking liquidity, and offers…
Serves institutional investors, limited partners seeking liquidity, secondary sellers, and private investors globally in private equity and private credit markets.
Location
Clearwater Commercial Investments LLP
Trajectory
4y · 2022–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsProvides liquidity solutions for investors seeking to exit private equity and other fund interests by purchasing limited partner stakes. Acquires illiquid assets including delisted or thinly traded…
Serves limited partners, institutional or private investors, creditors and businesses holding private equity fund interests, bankruptcy or insolvency claims, unpaid debts, interchange claims, and…
Financial Health
StableStable
Location
Pomona Europe Advisers Limited
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides private equity investment management focused on secondary market transactions. Structures and manages funds and portfolios that acquire interests in existing private equity funds and…
Serves institutional investors, accredited investors, global limited partners and individual retail investors with private equity allocation needs, including flagship funds, separately managed…
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · Profitable, Hiring · 6% CAGR over 4y
Location
Trajectory
1y · 2025–NowOperates an investment fund focused on last‑stage single‑asset secondary transactions, acquiring stakes in high‑growth technology and digital companies approaching exit and supporting portfolio…
Serves investors seeking exposure to late-stage single-asset secondaries and high-growth European tech and digital ventures approaching planned exits, typically 2–4 years away.
Financial Health
Insufficient historyInsufficient history
Location
Manages and invests in private markets funds and portfolios, focusing on primary fund commitments, secondary investments, direct co‑investments, infrastructure and real assets, and private credit.…
Serves institutional investors, investment consultants, fund managers, private clients, secondary sellers, companies seeking capital and firms seeking co-investors in private markets.
Location
MESIROW FINANCIAL INTERNATIONAL UK, LIMITED
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides financial services including wealth management, investment banking, capital markets trading, currency services, private equity and real estate investment management, and retirement plan…
Serves institutional investors, middle-market businesses, public finance issuers, retirement plan sponsors, wealth advisors, executives and high-net-worth individuals.
Financial Health
StableStable · Profitable · -4% CAGR over 4y
Location
Flywheel Capital Ltd
Trajectory
3y · 2023–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 3 filingsOperates a structured secondaries investment fund providing liquidity to growth‑stage startup founders, companies, and venture investors. Structures secondary transactions across single assets,…
Serves B2B customers in venture capital: growth-stage founders and companies, employee/shareholder teams, and venture investors or GPs managing funds, portfolios and co-investments who need liquidity…
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed
Location
MILLENNIA CAPITAL LIMITED
Trajectory
4y · 2022–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsInvests in venture capital and growth equity opportunities through discretionary and managed funds. Participates in primary investments, LP‑ and GP‑led secondaries, and joint ventures, and provides…
Serves institutional investors, funds of funds, family offices and individuals seeking private-market exposure, alongside venture and growth-stage companies and sponsor teams looking for long-term…
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Growing · 0% CAGR over 3y
Location
Manages private markets investments and funds, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real assets. Provides primary and secondary fund investments, direct co‑investments and…
Serves institutional investors, investment consultants, fund managers, companies seeking capital, firms seeking co-investors, secondary sellers and private clients in private markets.
Location
DOVER STREET INVESTMENTS LIMITED
Trajectory
5y · 2019–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides private markets investment management, focusing on private equity and credit. Manages primary investments, secondary transactions, co‑investments, infrastructure and real asset strategies,…
Serves institutional investors, investment consultants, fund managers, private clients, secondary sellers, and companies or firms seeking private markets capital or co-investment partners.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy
Location
Hamilton Lane
Provides private markets investment management and advisory services, including private equity primaries and secondaries, direct equity and credit investments, and infrastructure and real assets…
Serves institutional investors, insurers, Taft-Hartley plans, private wealth managers and high-net-worth/private wealth clients seeking private markets exposure.
Location
MADISON INTERNATIONAL REALTY UK, LTD
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides equity capital and liquidity solutions for real estate investors, including capital partner replacements, equity monetization, and recapitalizations. Invests in property portfolios, real…
Sells to institutional real estate owners, investors, operators and fund managers seeking liquidity, recapitalisation or equity solutions, including public real estate companies and parties at…
Financial Health
StableStable · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
HAMILTON LANE MANAGEMENT LIMITED
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsManages and advises on private market investments including private equity, credit, real assets and venture capital. Provides portfolio management, fund investments, secondary transactions, and data…
Serves institutional investors, insurers, pension and Taft-Hartley plans, wealth managers and private wealth investors seeking private markets exposure and related data and technology solutions.
Financial Health
WeakWeak · -73% CAGR over 4y
Location
Threadmark LLP
Trajectory
3y · 2023–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 3 filingsProvides placement agent and advisory services to private markets investment managers, raising capital from institutional investors and supporting fund launches, recapitalisations and secondaries…
Serves private markets investment managers and fund sponsors across real estate, infrastructure, private equity and private credit, from first-time managers to large established asset managers…
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · Hiring · 25% CAGR over 2y
Location
Bregal Investments
Provides private equity investment management through strategies including direct investments, growth capital, and fund‑of‑funds. Invests in mid‑market companies across sectors and manages primary,…
Serves private market investors and mid-market companies across North America and Europe, including software, consumer, food and beverage, business services, and climate-focused sectors.
Location
Manages alternative investment funds and strategies for institutional investors. Invests across private debt, structured capital, private equity secondaries, infrastructure and real estate, providing…
Serves institutional and professional capital providers globally, alongside management teams, founders and business owners seeking flexible capital across private equity, private debt, credit, real…
Location
Tyrus Capital
Manages alternative investment funds for institutional investors, focusing on special situations across public and private markets. Strategies include secondary private equity, convertible bonds, and…
Serves institutional investors globally, including pension plans, insurance companies, family offices and private wealth managers, plus European commercial and residential real estate market…
Location
ADAM STREET LIMITED
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsManages private markets investment funds and strategies including private equity, growth equity, private credit, co-investments and secondary investments. Provides investment solutions and capital to…
Serves institutional investors, insurance companies, wealth platforms, financial advisors and RIAs seeking private markets access for qualified clients, plus entrepreneurs and CEOs seeking growth…
Financial Health
StableStable · -4% CAGR over 4y
Location
Bregal Investments
Operates as part of a private equity investment platform providing direct investments and fund-of-funds strategies. Manages and deploys capital into mid‑market companies, software firms, and other…
Serves investors and mid-market companies across North America and Europe, including software, consumer, multi-unit, food and beverage, business services, and climate or nature-based solution…
Location
Adams Street Partners
Manages private markets investment strategies for institutional and wealth clients, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, co‑investments, and secondary investments. Also develops…
Serves institutional and qualified private-market investors, including financial advisers, wealth platforms, RIAs, insurance companies and investment professionals whose clients meet accredited or…
Location
Provides alternative investment management for institutional investors, deploying capital across public and private markets through strategies including special situations, secondary private equity,…
Serves institutional investors globally, including pension plans, insurance companies, family offices and private wealth managers seeking alternative investment strategies across public and private…
Location
HPC King's College Hospital
Operates as part of an investment management group focused on private equity and infrastructure. Invests in and manages stakes in mid‑market companies and infrastructure assets through managed funds…
Invests in mid-market businesses headquartered in Europe and North America, particularly in consumer, healthcare, industrial, services, software and infrastructure sectors.
Location
Manages alternative investment portfolios and funds for institutional and individual clients, allocating capital across private equity, hedge fund/absolute return, credit, infrastructure and real…
Serves institutional and individual investors seeking alternative investment allocations, including RIAs, financial advisers, insurance companies, corporate sponsors and other asset owners.
Location
LAUNCHBAY LTD
Trajectory
4y · 2021–NowOperates venture capital investment funds and a platform providing direct and secondary investments in private technology companies. Offers tokenized equity portfolios and investment access to…
Serves private-market investors and investment teams seeking exposure to growth-stage venture-backed technology companies, including AI, fintech, cybersecurity, space, defence and robotics sectors.
Financial Health
Insufficient historyInsufficient history
Location
Bregal Investments
Provides private equity investment services, managing funds that invest in mid‑market companies across sectors. Offers growth and equity capital and conducts fund‑of‑funds investments, co‑investments…
Serves B2B customers including mid-market and mid-sized companies, founder-owned businesses, software firms, and companies in consumer, food and beverage, business services, climate and nature-based…
Location
Manages private asset investment funds and strategies for investors, focusing on real estate, private equity, venture capital, infrastructure and private debt. Provides portfolio construction, asset…
Serves investors seeking private asset exposure across real estate, private equity, infrastructure, venture capital, private debt and impact investing, with a stated global opportunity set.
Location
Trajectory
4y · 2023–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsManages investment funds and private market strategies including private equity and credit. Provides capital and investment management services for institutional investors and financial advisors, and…
Serves institutional investors, financial advisors and portfolio company management teams worldwide, across sectors and private markets strategies.
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · 0% CAGR over 3y
Location
Investment company focused on private equity and infrastructure. Invests in and manages stakes in mid‑market businesses, primarily in Europe and North America, and manages infrastructure assets and…
Targets mid-market companies in Europe and North America seeking private equity investment, especially in consumer, healthcare, industrial, services and software sectors, plus infrastructure assets…
Location
Operates as an investment company focused on private equity and infrastructure. Invests in and manages stakes in mid‑market companies, particularly in sectors such as consumer, healthcare, industrial…
Targets mid-market companies in Europe and North America seeking private equity or infrastructure investment, especially in consumer, healthcare, industrial services and software sectors.
Location
Operates as part of an investment group managing private equity and infrastructure investments, deploying capital into mid‑market companies and infrastructure assets, and managing investment…
Serves institutional investors, shareholders and debt investors seeking exposure to private equity and infrastructure, with investment focus on mid-market companies in Europe and North America.
Location
Pantheon
Provides investment management focused on private markets. Manages funds and investment strategies across private equity, infrastructure, real assets and private credit, and offers private market…
Serves institutional and private wealth investors seeking private markets exposure, including clients investing in private equity, infrastructure, real assets and private credit through specialist…
Location
Blackstone
Manages alternative investment funds and assets for institutional and individual investors. Invests in private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, life sciences and growth companies, and…
Serves institutional and individual investors, including financial advisors, family offices, insurers and shareholders seeking access to private-market and alternative investment strategies.
Location
Provides private equity and infrastructure investment. Invests in and manages stakes in mid‑market companies, with portfolio businesses across sectors including consumer products, healthcare,…
Targets mid-market companies headquartered in Europe and North America, especially in consumer, healthcare, industrial services and software, and serves infrastructure investors.
Location
Elbon PFI Fund (investments)
Operates as an investment entity focusing on private equity and infrastructure assets, investing in mid‑market companies and infrastructure projects and managing portfolio holdings to generate…
Targets mid-market companies headquartered in Europe and North America, especially in consumer, healthcare, industrial, services, software and infrastructure sectors, alongside shareholders and debt…
Location
Manages private equity and infrastructure investments, deploying capital into mid‑market companies and infrastructure assets through investment funds and holding structures, and overseeing portfolio…
Location
Operates as a holding and investment entity within a private equity and infrastructure investment group. Holds and manages interests in portfolio companies and investment vehicles targeting…
Serves institutional investors, shareholders and debt investors, and targets mid-market companies headquartered in Europe and North America across consumer, healthcare, industrial services and…
Location
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How UK PE secondaries companies work and how to sell to them
What they do
Revenue is usually tied to transaction work rather than recurring product usage. Advisers earn retainers, completion fees and valuation or fairness-opinion fees around LP-led sales, GP-led continuation vehicles and portfolio transfers. Managers and principal investors earn management fees, carried interest or investment returns from buying fund interests, often using dedicated vehicles or discretionary accounts. Some work is narrow project delivery, such as pricing analysis or process management; some is capital deployment, where the firm takes exposure to future distributions and exit timing. Pricing therefore follows mandate complexity, conflicts risk and execution certainty, not seat counts or self-serve usage.
Who they sell to
Buyers tend to be private markets teams at institutional investors, fund managers and financial sponsors. The day-to-day sponsor may be an LP portfolio manager, head of private equity, fund finance lead, general counsel or GP-led transaction team, with investment committee approval needed when capital is being sold, rolled or repriced. Procurement is usually direct and relationship-led, sometimes through a beauty parade or RFP when a formal adviser selection process is required. Sales cycles are rarely casual: trust is built through prior transactions, investor references, valuation judgement and an ability to manage confidential information without creating conflicts.
What they buy
Most PE secondaries firms tend to spend on systems and services that reduce transaction friction. Relevant categories include deal CRM, investor communications, secure document management, portfolio monitoring, valuation workflow, fund accounting, cashflow forecasting, conflicts registers, compliance tooling and cyber security. They also buy legal, tax, audit, regulatory and due-diligence support around fund transfers, continuation vehicles and investor consent processes. Recruitment services can fit when teams add private markets execution, valuation or investor-relations capacity. Marketing spend is usually more targeted than broad demand generation, with credibility built through private meetings, investor materials and adviser relationships rather than high-volume campaigns.
Why and how to sell to them
Buying triggers often come from a specific transaction rather than a general budget cycle: a live secondary sale, a new continuation vehicle, a fundraise, a senior investment hire, a new managed account or a move into advisory work. Pain points tend to centre on pricing confidence, document control, audit trails, conflicts management, investor reporting and the coordination of external counsel and tax advisers. Sellers usually get further by linking their pitch to execution risk, confidentiality and committee-ready evidence, rather than generic productivity claims. References from adjacent private capital buyers matter, because these firms screen vendors for discretion as much as functionality.
How this list is built
Data sources
This list is built from UK Companies House filings, XBRL accounts data, and semantic analysis of each company's public website. Revenue and headcount figures come from the most recent filed accounts; where the company has not filed, values are estimated using a model trained on filed history and peer benchmarks and are labelled as estimates.
Classification
Rather than relying solely on SIC codes, Firmbase classifies each company semantically: the company's website is crawled, an AI model reads what the company actually sells, and the company is placed into the relevant industry and subsectors. SIC codes are used as one signal but not the only one. This means a company that registered under a generic SIC code but pivoted into (for example) fintech is correctly identified as fintech, not as its original SIC category.
Freshness
The underlying company data is refreshed from Companies House continuously; filings appear in the list within days of submission. The curated list ordering is regenerated when the underlying data moves meaningfully (company count changes by more than 5%, a new company enters the top-ranked segment, or the filed-revenue numbers for the top firms change). You can see the last-updated timestamp near the top of the page.
Sources
- UK private capital investment hits £29bn in 2024
- Private equity and venture capital invested £29.4bn in UK businesses in 2024.
- The 2024 total was a 44% increase on the £20.4bn invested the year prior.
- The figures are cited as research by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA).
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