Corporate Moves
Amidst Sector Growth, Clipway Closes Debut Secondaries Fund
The London-based manager’s Secondary Fund I raised $6.4 billion from 186 limited partners, three years after the firm’s public debut.
Reported by Matt Toledo
London-based asset manager Clipway Ltd. announced the final close of its debut secondaries fund, Clipway Secondary Fund I, raising $6.4 billion in capital commitments—which the company identified as the largest debut of any secondaries fund.
Clipway raised capital from 186 limited partners around the world, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, family offices, and other institutional investors, according to the firm.
Founded in 2021 by alumni of private markets and secondaries firm Ardian, Clipway began fundraising for the fund in 2023.
The inaugural fund will invest in LP-led secondary transactions from North American and Western European buyout funds, with a focus on middle-market companies in developed markets.
The firm uses its proprietary Tech-Enabled Secondaries System—a database of more than 38,500 private companies and 3,400 private equity funds—to evaluate investment opportunities.
Since Clipway launched , Mubadala Investment Co., the sovereign investor from the United Arab Emirates; French asset manager Carmignac; and U.S.-based private equity firm General Atlantic have served as strategic partners.
The fundraise comes amidst a surge in demand for private equity secondaries from limited partners. Secondaries market volumed crossed $50 billion in the first half of the year, according to data from publication Secondaries Investor.
Alternative investment managers are also closing increasingly large funds to take advantage of opportunities in the secondary market. Ardian, in January 2025, closed the largest ever secondaries fund, raising $30 billion for the ninth iteration of its secondaries platform.
Lexington Capital, an early pioneer of private equity secondaries, closed its tenth fund in 2023, raising $22.7 billion. Blackstone is also targeting a $22 billion raise for its next private market secondaries fund, Strategic Partners X, according to published reports.