FUNDRAISING NEWS | August 16, 2024
In its H1 2024 Secondary Market Overview report, published Aug. 14, 2024, Campbell Lutyens (CL) said secondaries could generate a total transaction volume of up to $137B in 2024, spurred by elevated pricing and an influx of new market participants. CL’s analysis is based on proprietary data collected from a survey it sent to over “100 of the largest and most active participants in the secondary market.”
Reflecting on the first half of 2024, CL said the secondary market finally saw its expected rebound, driven by narrowing bid-ask spreads that unlocked a backlog of transactions. Following a year of record fundraising, secondary buyers were eager to deploy capital, leading to better pricing for both LP- and GP-led deals. Meanwhile, sellers facing overallocation and in need of liquidity after years of limited distributions took advantage of the improved pricing to adjust their portfolios.
The market also saw a resurgence of single-asset continuation vehicles, with mid-market sponsors retaining their top-performing assets, according to CL. With a surge of new participants among both buyers and sellers, the firm’s analysis suggests 2024 has the potential to set a new benchmark for secondary market volumes.
To that end, CL said there is “significant confidence” that H2 2024 will maintain the strong momentum from the first half of the year, with approximately 65% of its survey respondents expecting full-year volumes to reach record levels, which CL estimated could hit $137B. Tempering expectations, CL concluded by noting the medium-term possibility of slower fundraising eventually softening demand and, in turn, pricing and volumes.
Read the full report from CL here.
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Koncheng Moua is the Director of Data Management and Strategy at Dakota.
