For The First Time, Non-U.S. Firms Are A Majority Of The HEC Paris-Dow Jones Small Cap Buyout Ranking

For the first time in the history of the HEC Paris-Dow Jones Small Cap Buyout Performance Ranking, more than half of the top 20 firms are based outside the United States – a milestone that signals accelerating global competition in one of private equity’s most contested segments.

The 2025 edition of the ranking, developed by HEC Paris strategy professor Oliver Gottschalg and released Monday (May 18), places Philadelphia-area firm Renovus Capital at No. 1 for the fourth consecutive year. Founded in 2010 and focused on founder-owned businesses in education, healthcare, and tech, Renovus has now led the small cap ranking every year since Gottschalg expanded it into a consistent annual series – a run that has made it something of a benchmark name in the segment. But the geography below the top spot has shifted significantly. Six of the top 10 firms are based in the EU (excluding the UK), and two are Australian, a distribution that would have been virtually unthinkable in earlier editions of the ranking.

“This year’s small cap buyout ranking is a significant reflection of rising levels of competition across the globe,” Gottschalg says.

BREAKING NEW GROUND

Private equity firms pool capital from pension funds, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds and use it to buy and eventually sell companies, ideally at a profit. The small cap segment is the end of that business with smaller deals, less competition, and performance figures that rarely see the light of day. The ranking covers firms that raised between $100 million and $1 billion over the study period and evaluates performance across 695 PE firms and 1,439 funds representing roughly $2.5 trillion in aggregate equity. Performance scores blend IRR, DPI, and TVPI – measures designed to capture both realized and unrealized returns.

Sole Source Capital, also U.S.-based, took second place, followed by GMT Communications Partners, a UK firm specializing in mid-market tech investments. GMT is the only non-U.S. company in the top five, a detail Gottschalg notes reflects continued American strength at the very top even as the broader list diversifies.

The most geographically significant entry belongs to Genesis Capital Equity, a Prague-based firm focused on lower mid-market consumer and retail investments, which placed 17th. It marks the first appearance of a Central and Eastern European GP in any HEC–Dow Jones private equity ranking.

GENERALISTS OUTPERFORM

The 2025 edition of the small cap ranking challenges the PE wisdom that specialization drives outperformance. Most of the top-ranked firms pursue diversified, multi-sector strategies. Motion Equity Partners, ranked sixth, has invested across tech, healthcare, manufacturing, and consulting. Clarion Capital Partners, seventh, spans finance, healthcare, education, tech, and media.

“This challenges the notion that private equity is trending towards specialisation,” Gottschalg says. A handful of firms do maintain narrow mandates – Chicago Pacific Founders in healthcare, The Growth Fund in financial services – but they are the exception rather than the rule among this year’s top performers.

The ranking also surfaces a generational range among its honorees. Firms average more than 20 years in operation, yet five of the top 20 have been launched since 2010, suggesting that newer entrants are competing effectively against established players.

PART OF A BROADER SERIES

The small cap ranking is one of several that Gottschalg publishes annually in partnership with Dow Jones.

P&Q has previously covered the upper mid-market edition, where U.S. firms claimed 18 of the top 20 spots; the lower mid-market edition, which saw a Swedish impact fund crack the top five for the first time; and the growth capital edition, which in its most recent iteration saw UK and Japanese firms enter the top 10 for the first time.

TOP 20 SMALL CAP BUYOUT FIRMS IN 2025

Rank	Firm	Performance Score
1	Renovus Capital	3.25
2	Sole Source Capital	2.21
3	GMT Communications Partners	1.89
4	Graycliff Partners	1.82
5	Frontenac Company	1.76
6	Motion Equity Partners	1.54
7	Clarion Capital Partners	1.16
8	Goldner Hawn	1.04
9	Sparring Capital	0.89
10	DBAY Advisors	0.89
11	Chicago Pacific Founders	0.89
12	O2 Investment Partners	0.88
13	YFM Equity Partners	0.87
14	VIA equity	0.82
15	Down 2 Earth Capital	0.75
16	Eureka Equity Partners	0.71
17	Genesis Capital Equity	0.58
18	IFM Investors	0.57
19	ProA Capital	0.47
20	The Growth Fund	0.42

DON’T MISS EUROPEAN & UK FIRMS GAIN GROUND IN HEC PARIS-DOWN JONES PE RANKING AS IMPACT FUND CRACKS TOP 5 and U.S. FIRMS DOMINATE HEC PARIS-DOW JONES RANKING OF UPPER MID-MARKET PRIVATE EQUITY

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