Eighteen48 Partners completes EUR175M initial tranche for its European mid-market buyout fund.

      TL;DR Eighteen48 Partners has secured EUR175 million for the first tranche of its inaugural private equity fund, with a target of EUR350 million. The London-based firm focuses on European mid-market buyouts facilitated by independent sponsors and has invested over EUR200 million in this strategy since 2020. This fundraising initiative coincides with the increasing popularity of the independent-sponsor model in Europe, which has seen significant growth in the US over the past decade.

      Eighteen48 Partners, an alternative asset manager founded in London by Julien Sevaux, Tarek AbuZayyad, and Edward Clive, has raised €175 million for the first tranche of its first private equity fund, which aims for a total of €350 million. The fund will support mid-market buyouts throughout Europe, exclusively through independent sponsors—dealmakers who identify and negotiate acquisitions before securing the necessary funding, rather than drawing from a predetermined capital pool.

      The first close included contributions from a variety of existing Eighteen48 clients, institutions, family offices, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Since 2020, the firm has allocated over €200 million to independent-sponsor transactions, making this fund a formal acknowledgment of a strategy that the team has been pursuing for six years rather than a traditional debut.

      How the model works

      Independent sponsors fill a unique gap in private equity. Unlike traditional buyout firms that gather a blind-pool fund and then seek deals, independent sponsors pinpoint a specific acquisition target first and then approach investors for financing. This structure provides investors clarity on specific deal terms prior to committing capital, as opposed to relying on a general partner to utilize a fund over several years with limited insight.

      For the sponsors, the challenge is that they manage transactions without secured financing, which limits the model to experienced operators with robust networks. For capital providers like Eighteen48, the benefit lies in accessing off-market deals that typically do not enter the competitive auction processes that dictate most mid-market private equity pricing. Oliver Mayer, Eighteen48’s head of private equity, pointed out that the structural advantages of these relationship-oriented deals are pivotal to the firm's returns.

      A model crossing the Atlantic

      Independent sponsors have long been a staple of the American private equity landscape, but this model is relatively novel in Europe. Several factors are driving its adoption: seasoned dealmakers leaving established firms for independent ventures, family offices seeking more direct involvement with private companies, and a larger reshaping of European capital markets prompting investors towards more flexible structures. Additionally, the EU's initiatives to reform startup funding have further legitimized the concept that European companies require access to a broader array of capital providers beyond traditional fund managers.

      As reported by IPEM, the private equity industry body, Europe now features an expanding network of independent sponsors, and an increase in such deals is anticipated in 2026, given the challenging fundraising climate for conventional blind-pool funds. Approximately 70% of European private equity professionals surveyed indicated they plan to invest more capital this year, with 87% considering 2026 as favorable for deal-making—the most optimistic outlook seen in five years.

      Eighteen48 competes in the independent-sponsor segment alongside Kartesia, which manages nearly €6 billion in private credit strategies, and Idinvest Partners, a pan-European mid-market investor. Eighteen48 distinguishes itself by having directly invested in independent-sponsor deals for six years prior to launching a formal fund, providing it with a track record that many first-time fund managers do not possess.

      The founders

      Sevaux, the founding partner and CEO of the firm, co-founded Stanhope Capital in 2004. Alongside his co-founders, he launched Eighteen48 in 2019 as a “next-generation private investment office,” a platform that manages capital across both public and private markets for families and institutions. The private equity fund is the first external vehicle raised by Eighteen48, marking a significant step in the growth of its independent-sponsor deal pipeline and the rising institutional demand for exposure to European mid-market opportunities.

      While the fund’s target of €350 million is considered modest by global private equity standards, it is significant for the independent-sponsor sector, where deal sizes generally range from €10 million to €150 million. If fully raised, it would position Eighteen48 as one of the larger dedicated capital providers for independent sponsors in Europe, a timely advantage should the current trend in European deal-making persist.

      Sevaux noted that the fund “formalizes a highly differentiated strategy” the firm has been pursuing for several years. In a landscape where most private equity firms compete for the same auctioned assets, Eighteen48 is focusing on the opportunities that others overlook, believing they are the ones worth investing in.