BlackRock sees Europe private assets topping 5 trillion euros by 2030
The US investment giant says infrastructure investment grows fastest in the region over the past five years
European private markets are set to surpass 5 trillion euros (S$7.5 billion) by the end of the decade, buoyed by the rapid growth of infrastructure and a favourable shift in investor sentiment towards the continent, according to BlackRock.
The US investment giant said on Monday (Nov 10) that investment in infrastructure grew faster in the region than in any other asset class over the last five years, with 55.4 billion euro raised for Europe-based funds in the first half of 2025, beating the total amount raised the year before.
Structural tailwinds of the “once-in-a-generation transformation of the energy ecosystem has underpinned the growth in infrastructure,” according to Gonzalo Garcia, partner at BlackRock unit Global Infrastructure Partners. He also pointed towards the digital transformation, the rewiring of global supply chains and the need to retool ageing assets as reasons for European market outpacing others.
Private markets globally are estimated at US$13 trillion, propelled by the trend of companies choosing to stay private for longer.
Companies such as SpaceX and OpenAI have dispelled the belief that the only way to raise significant levels of capital is from listing on stock markets.
For Europe, increased geopolitical uncertainty in the US following President Donald Trump’s tariff policy has provided some stimulus as investors realised the opportunity that centuries-old assets can provide.
More than 90 per cent of companies in Europe and the UK with revenue exceeding US$100 million annually are not listed, highlighting the need for private markets financing. Private credit is part of that and the BlackRock predicts that the asset class in Europe will almost double by the end of the decade to over 800 billion euros.
“With the majority of Europe’s small-to-medium enterprises owned privately, it is essential that these companies can turn to deep pools of capital to fund their future growth,” said BlackRock’s vice-chairman Philipp Hildebrand.
Still, some are calling for caution in private markets, especially after the recent collapse of Tricolor Holdings and First Brands in the US. BLOOMBERG
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