ECI Partners predicts a continued increase in minority deals
ECI Partners, the leading mid-market PE firm, predicts that the growth in private equity minority deals is set to continue.
Suzanne Pike, partner and head of origination at ECI Partners observes: “The latest Gain.pro data shows that minority deals have become a growing proportion of all PE deals: last year minority deals represented 42% of all UK PE deals, compared with 40% in 2023 and 35% in 2022. We believe this trend is set to continue as PE firms become more creative in how they unlock potential investments, while CEOs want to retain control of their business but still benefit from PE investment to turbo-charge their growth and support strategic initiatives.”
| Year | PE Majority Deals | PE Minority Deals | Minority deals as % of overall PE deals |
| 2018 | 205 | 100 | 33% |
| 2019 | 231 | 112 | 33% |
| 2020 | 220 | 106 | 33% |
| 2021 | 349 | 150 | 30% |
| 2022 | 240 | 128 | 35% |
| 2023 | 189 | 125 | 40% |
| 2024 | 222 | 158 | 42% |
| H1 2025 | 119 | 86 | 42% |
Source: Gain.pro
Pike continues: “It is not surprising that minority deals are so popular. They are a fantastic way for a business to get capital investment that wouldn’t otherwise come to the market. In today’s market it’s more important than ever to provide flexible investment and exit options. In fact, around a third of our deals involve minority stakes. Often this gives businesses a runway for growth, for example helping to fund M&A activity. It also gives management teams a second bite of the cherry when they complete their next transaction.
“We’re seeing more Founders and CEOs asking about minority deals as part of processes, but for us it’s not important whether a deal is minority or majority, a successful partnership is about collaboration and shared alignment on the growth potential of a business.”
Benefits of a minority deal
Minority investing helps founder-entrepreneurs to ‘cash out and stay’ by realising some equity value whilst retaining an ongoing equity stake to benefit from any future value increase.
Minority deals often appeal to founder-entrepreneurs who want to de-risk their personal financial positions when a large amount of their wealth is tied up in one private company. A full exit doesn’t appeal because they feel their job is unfinished and they can also see the benefits of continued involvement given investor confidence in their business’s future growth prospects. Many also reach a stage where they want help from experienced growth investors in further business expansion.