Investment Criteria

Although we are highly selective in the company we keep, we follow a number of guidelines for investing.

We invest in:

• Most industrial and commercial sectors with a particular interest in service companies
• Substantial companies with a proven record of profitable and cash-generative growth
• Situations where we have the active support of the companies' management teams
• Companies of a size which allows them to seek a flotation within five years
• Companies headquartered in Western Europe, although many are global in reach, worth, on a debt-free basis, between €400 million and €4 billion

In addition to our company specific investment criteria:

• Our equity underwriting capacity is up to €1 billion per transaction, although for deals requiring a higher level of equity investment, we may work jointly with our Fund Investors
• We expect investment holding periods to be approximately five years although shorter or longer hold periods may be appropriate in particular circumstances