More than EUR 1 billion in capital commitments for private markets funds

Palladio Partners has secured capital commitments of approximately EUR 1.2 billion for its private markets funds in completed fundraising rounds (final closing) over the past twelve months. This has pushed assets under management at the private markets specialist past EUR 11 billion, marking annual growth of around 15% over the past five years and more than doubling the figure from 2021. 
Funds that have reached final close include the Rotonda Transformation D infrastructure direct investment fund, a continuation vehicle for the holding in Railpool and the Value Added Private Equity Access Portfolio (VAPEAP) fund of funds. With this growth, Palladio Partners continues to expand its fund strategies in the infrastructure and private equity asset classes, which sit alongside its focus on bespoke managed accounts.

Broader, more international investor base 
“Around half of the capital raised was from existing investors, underscoring their continued confidence in our strategies. The rest was from new investors, meaning that we have been able to expand our investor base,” says Bernd Kreuter, co-founder and Managing Partner of Palladio Partners. “We are also seeing increasing success in attracting international investors to Palladio Partners. For the first time, investors outside Germany made up a significant proportion of capital commitments, accounting for more than a fifth of the total. They were particularly drawn to our infrastructure investment opportunities.” 

Infrastructure: EUR 500 million for infrastructure transformation and new chapter in Railpool’s growth 
Continuing Palladio Partners’ Germany-focused direct investment strategy, which has proven itself for over a decade, the Rotonda Transformation D fund invests in transforming infrastructure, spanning multiple sectors. The portfolio already includes investments in edge data centers, battery storage and emission-free heavy freight transportation infrastructure. 
Palladio Partners – advised by Campbell Lutyens – has also successfully launched a continuation vehicle for the further growth of the freight locomotive leasing platform Railpool. Multiple predecessor-fund investors are participating in the new fund and have rolled over their existing holdings. The transaction also drew considerable interest from new investors, who provided around two-thirds of the total capital. These included large German institutional investors and leading international investors. 
Since Palladio Partners’ initial investment in 2017, Railpool has tripled its fleet and made major expansions to its depot network across Europe. The continuation vehicle creates the basis to continue Railpool’s growth together with the co-shareholder GIC, a leading global investment firm and manager of Singapore’s foreign reserves.

Private equity: Access-constrained small cap strategy meets strong demand VAPEAP I, the fund of funds launched in 2023, offers a broad group of investors access to a private equity strategy with a 20-year track record, which Palladio Partners consistently follows: This focuses on managers specializing in the small cap segment. “Many investors have been disappointed with the private equity performance in their portfolios in recent years. The small cap segment regularly shows much more resilience than the wider market and delivers distributions even in difficult times. However, it is very difficult to access. This is where our fund of funds offers a solution,” says Sven Czermin, responsible for Private Equity at Palladio Partners. The first fund generation (VAPEAP I) reached its target volume of EUR 200 million in the final close and is now fully invested. Based on the first exits, its first significant distribution is expected in the summer. The second generation (VAPEAP II) has already reached first close, and the first fund subscriptions are being processed.