Proprietary research with 109 European and US mid-market private equity funds explores the people, structures and resourcing decisions behind value creation.
When should a fund establish a dedicated value creation team? Which combination of operating partners and specialist expertise does it need? And how much of that capability should sit permanently within the fund?
These are familiar questions for operating partners and private equity leaders. Getting a clear view of how other firms answer them is harder.
Today, Finatal launches Building the Value Creation Function, a major new research report examining how mid-market private equity funds organise, resource and deploy operating capability.
We launched the research in Paris at a private lunch for operating partners from across Europe attending SuperReturn Operating Partners Europe. It was an opportunity to put the findings in front of the people whose day-to-day decisions sit at the heart of the report.
Working with Censuswide, we surveyed 109 mid-market private equity funds across Europe and the US, speaking to professionals responsible for, or with oversight of, value creation within their portfolios.
The research examines three decisions at the heart of the operating model: when to establish a dedicated function, how to structure the team, and how to access the expertise needed to deliver.
For Finatal, these questions are central to our work connecting private capital with operating and leadership talent. This report brings a broader evidence base to those conversations, combining peer benchmarks with perspectives from our work with funds and portfolio companies.
Three findings offer a starting point.
Nearly half of surveyed funds (49%) established their dedicated value creation team at Fund III.
That concentration gives operating partners a useful reference point for a consequential decision: when to make dedicated operating capability part of the firm’s structure.
The report explores what sits behind that decision, including the triggers for establishing a team and the mix of generalists, industry specialists and functional specialists that funds bring together.
AI emerges as the most-selected capability expected to contribute most to value creation over the next two years.
For operating partners, that raises a practical talent question: what expertise will turn that ambition into results across the portfolio?
The research looks beyond priorities to examine capability maturity, specialist investment plans and how funds access expertise across different functions. Together, these findings provide a fuller picture of the people and structures needed to support the next phase of value creation.
74% of surveyed funds plan to expand their in-house teams, increase their use of interim or fractional talent, or do both. Almost half (48%) anticipate greater use of interim or fractional capability.
The findings put flexible expertise firmly within the conversation about how funds build their operating capacity.
They also raise questions about which capabilities need a permanent home, which can be accessed for a particular challenge, and how funds combine the two. The report explores these choices alongside hiring barriers and the ways operating capability is funded.
Building the Value Creation Function offers a detailed view of how funds approach the decisions operating partners face: team composition, leadership, specialist demand, capability maturity, resourcing and funding.
Whether you’re establishing a function, expanding an existing team or reassessing how you support the portfolio, the report provides a basis for comparing approaches and testing your next move.
Paris marked the start of a wider conversation. We look forward to exploring the findings with operating partners across Europe and North America.
Download Building the Value Creation Function to explore the full findings and Finatal’s perspectives.
