Jose Rodriguez, Managing Partner at Queen’s Park Equity (QPE), speaks to Finatal about the firm’s approach to investing in the lower mid-market, the importance of sector knowledge and the relationships that help businesses grow.
Finatal was headline sponsor of the Real Deals Private Equity Awards 2026, where Queen’s Park Equity won Private Equity House of the Year: Lower Mid Cap.
For Jose Rodriguez, the attraction of the lower mid-market starts with the people behind a business. QPE looks for founders who want to change their company’s direction or accelerate its growth, and who are looking for a partner to help them do it.
That approach combines a clear sector focus with research-led investing and a willingness to keep evolving. Underpinning it are three values: empathy, energy and excellence.
QPE was recognised at the Real Deals Private Equity Awards. What do you think has enabled the firm to stand out?
We have a clear, differentiated strategy. First and foremost, we have a strong sector focus. We know our sectors extremely well and, in some cases, have been covering them for more than 20 years.
We’re also very research-led. We spend a lot of time thinking about where we want to invest and why. That helps us develop sustainable value creation strategies.
QPE’s success comes from the whole package: finding opportunities, partnering with management teams and adding value to companies we know well. We want to create situations where we all win together.
As a relatively young firm, QPE has built considerable momentum. What have you done differently from the outset?
Things have gone very well for QPE, but there are always things we could’ve done better. We’re convinced that if we do exactly the same things in five or ten years that we do today, we won’t be as successful.
We’re always looking at what we can improve, what we can change and where we can put more focus and energy. Markets change, and other people are trying to do similar things, so we need to keep evolving.
It’s important to reflect on what’s working and what could improve. Rather than spending all our time looking backwards, we ask what we can do today to make things better for the future.
What continues to attract you to the lower mid-market?
We get excited by founders who want to change the direction and growth rate of their businesses and are looking for a partner. We find that in the part of the market where we focus.
It’s a great place to be. You can add a lot of value and have interesting conversations with founders. It becomes a partnership, rather than simply a financial transaction. That keeps it interesting and exciting for us.
What qualities do you look for in the people behind a business, beyond the numbers?
We look for people who share our values. When we started QPE, we were very clear that those values were empathy, energy and excellence.
Empathy means building long-term relationships with founders and management teams. We’re extremely proud that we still work with people we worked with ten or fifteen years ago.
Energy matters because we love what we do and work hard. We look for the same enthusiasm in the people leading their businesses.
Excellence doesn’t necessarily mean being the biggest. It can mean delivering the best returns or building businesses that provide fantastic services to customers. We look for founders who share that pursuit of excellence and take pride in their work.
Where do you see the greatest opportunities to create value?
There isn’t one thing you can point to in every business that will be the game-changer. At QPE, value creation is a process and a model.
We’ve developed our value creation pillars: a systematic approach that we apply to each company. That doesn’t mean an identical playbook for every business, but it does mean a consistent process and a set of activities we have experience implementing.
None of it is rocket science. You can read about many of these ideas in a book or learn them on an MBA. The difference is practical experience. Founders may know the direction they want to travel, but they may not have made that journey before. Having a partner who can help implement it is important.
How do you discuss that approach with management teams before investing?
When we explain our approach and a management team asks lots of questions about how we’ll add value and what we’ll do, we get excited. We want people who are interested in that journey.
If they aren’t interested, it may not be the right opportunity for us. Someone who’s simply looking for a full cash-out may want something different. We get excited by founders who want to understand and challenge the contribution we’ll make.
As portfolio companies grow, how do you strengthen their management teams?
Most of the businesses we look at already have great people. That’s why they’ve achieved what they have. But it’s rare to find a complete team, and the gaps evolve as the business grows.
Our job is to work with management to understand those gaps and fill them with the right talent. We have experience doing that across our portfolio, and trusted advisers like Finatal are important partners in the process.
Often, a business needs an experienced chair with sector knowledge, private equity experience and an understanding of the challenges of growth. We may know plenty of people who could do the job, but the aim is to find the right person for that particular situation. Proper research and search are important.
In other cases, a good business may not yet have a finance function that meets the requirements of private equity. An experienced CFO could be important, or the business may need a strong COO. We assess that case by case, together with the management team.
How important is the chemistry between the people you bring in and the existing team?
You need the right skills and the right chemistry, and we spend a lot of time getting that right. Bringing someone in from outside and imposing them on a management team is a recipe for disaster.
Every situation is different. We’re dealing with talented people who have their own strengths and weaknesses, and not everybody fits with everybody. Building the right partnerships is a key part of our job.
What feels different about the founders you meet today?
Many of the founders we speak to have already decided that they’d like to bring in private equity at some stage. The question is no longer whether to do it, but which type of private equity partner is right for them.
They spend time getting to know us, asking how we’ll add value and checking the chemistry between the investor and the management team. They’ve decided they want help on the next stage of the journey; finding the right partner is the key.
That’s a significant change from how the UK market looked five, ten or twenty years ago.
Founders also discover that private equity isn’t one size fits all. We may all have capital and successful funds, but we look at businesses differently and add value in different ways. Spending quality time on those conversations early in the process is very important.
Is the lower mid-market currently a buyer’s or a seller’s market?
The biggest constraint for us is time, which says something about the depth of the UK market. It’s a very entrepreneurial country, with many businesses doing fantastic things and ambitious founders who want to grow and expand.
Finding the time to build those relationships is a real constraint. I’d encourage founders to think carefully about what they want to achieve and take the time to find the right partner for their needs.
I wouldn’t simply call it a buyer’s or a seller’s market, because every situation is different.
What excites you most about the next chapter for QPE?
We’ve raised a new fund and are investing it, while continuing to add value to the portfolio companies in our first fund, which is fully invested.
The team is growing, and we’re looking to bring more people into the business. The market is rich with opportunities, so we’re excited about the future and what we can do. The challenge is finding the time to do all the exciting things in front of us.
What is one quality every great founder shares?
Passion. We love meeting people who are excited about what they do and the product or service they deliver. They need to be obsessed with quality for their customers.
It’s not just about revenue and profit. It’s about the differentiated service you offer your clients. That’s the real secret sauce in a business.
What advice would you give an entrepreneur preparing for private equity investment?
Be very open about what you’d like to achieve. That doesn’t mean your thinking can’t change or evolve, but the clearer you are about your goals, the better your chance of finding the right partner for your situation.
Share as much as you can. People sometimes think of it as a tough negotiation, but finding the right fit for what you want to achieve is the most important thing.
And one word to describe the last twelve months at QPE?
I’d choose one of our values: excellence.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.