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Alternatives in 2025
Square Groupe shares some key highlights during the summer.
Square Groupe attended the webinar of Preqin relating to the Alternatives investment in the DACH region in July. We would like to share the key highlights of the presentation.
Q2 2025 confirms the DACH region’s strategic role in the global alternatives landscape. Despite cautious global sentiment, key indicators show sustained activity in private equity, venture capital, private debt, and real estate. Square Groupe, which is an investment company specialized in private equity and real estate, is well positioned to offer alternative investments to Family offices and qualified investors mostly in Private Equity and Real Estate.
1. DACH region is very active in Alternatives with over 2’000 GPs based in the region
DACH region is one of the most dynamic regions for GPs with over 2’000 active GPs. The GP’s are mostly represented in Private Equity and Real Estate.
2. A local fundraising rebound
Fundraising volumes rose significantly in 2024 compared to 2023, signaling a renewed confidence. Private equity fundraising remains lower than the 2021 peak but at a good level with 160 bn$ raised in H1 2025. US and Europe are growing. Private equity remains the primary driver, with over €30bn in new capital commitments.
3. Private Equity: Resilient deal flow
The volume of transactions in Private Equity remains strong in H1 2025 in Europe while the US is declining. Q2 was less active than Q1 2025 with a reduced number of IPOs and Sales to Management.
4. VC: signs of recovery
After a decline since 2022, venture capital exits have shown an upward trend in H1 2025. This rebound may signal the reactivation of the secondary market for innovation-focused investors.
5. Real estate: fly to quality
Real estate and private debt deal volumes are still below 2021 high but reflect growing signs of stability. These markets offer promising ground for opportunistic investment with strong fundamentals. DACH region remains very slow in Real Estate especially in the residential sector.
6. Private debt – DACH region
Private debt lags behind 2024 with smaller transactions.
7. Long-term momentum remains strong
Looking ahead, investors are set to increase their allocations to alternative assets over the next five years with a strong focus on Private Debt, Infrastructure, Private Equity and Real Estate.
The investors increased their allocation into Alternatives increasing from 4.4% to 5% of their investment portfolio which is showing a positive trend for Alternatives.
Conclusion
The DACH region is emerging as a key destination for private and institutional alternative investment with many talented GPs and a pool of capital to be invested in this segment.
At Square Groupe, we believe that the DACH remain a key market for investors due to the strong interest for Alternative investments and a strong experience to invest in direct transactions instead of the large funds. 2025 will favor those managers who can pair strong sector specialization with operational resilience and adaptability in execution.
In today’s post-adjustment environment, Square Groupe focuses its real estate investments on hospitality, backed by solid tourism fundamentals and the gap in the market between very large PE funds and small promoters. In parallel, our private equity approach emphasizes active partnerships with growing SMEs, particularly in succession scenarii where the kids do not want to take over the parents’ business.