Private Capital Firms Shift Focus as Competition Intensifies

Termgrid's Private Capital Survey H2 26 finds firms are redefining competitive advantage through operational efficiency, specialization and relationships.

Key findings include:

• Market sentiment remains cautious, with optimism diverging between EMEA and the Americas.
• Continuation vehicles are expected to drive the next wave of liquidity solutions.
• 53% expect non-bank lenders to continue gaining share in fund finance.
• Workflow automation ranks above AI as firms' biggest operational priority.
• Only 16% have embedded AI into enterprise knowledge management.

LONDON and NEW YORK, July 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Private capital firms are increasingly competing through operational efficiency, specialist expertise and stronger relationships rather than scale, according to Termgrid's Private Capital Survey H2 26. While market sentiment remains broadly stable, the survey suggests competitive advantage is increasingly being driven by execution, liquidity solutions and operational technology.

Market sentiment remains cautious, with 38% optimistic and 51% expecting conditions to remain broadly unchanged. EMEA respondents are more optimistic (45%) than those in the Americas (35%), where macroeconomic conditions continue to dominate spread expectations.

Fundraising conditions remain difficult, driving greater adoption of alternative liquidity solutions. Continuation vehicles are expected to see the strongest growth (33%), followed by hybrid fund finance structures (20%) and NAV financing (19%). More than half of respondents (53%) also expect non-bank lenders to continue gaining market share in fund finance particularly in Europe (64%) compared to the Americas (43%).

Firms are increasingly differentiating through expertise rather than scale. Participants working with firms with more than $50mn EBITDA emphasise liquidity solutions (23%) and flexible commercial terms (21%), while those working with firms with less than $50mn EBITDA focus on specialist investment strategies (20%) and co-investment opportunities (19%) to attract capital.

Technology investment is shifting towards operational efficiency. Nearly 40% identify workflow automation as the biggest opportunity to improve team capacity. While AI adoption is becoming mainstream, only 16% have embedded it into enterprise knowledge management. Accuracy (32%), integration (25%) and data security (20%) remain the biggest barriers to wider adoption.

"Competition continues to intensify across the private capital landscape and firms are increasingly differentiating through operational excellence, specialist expertise and stronger client relationships," said Dipish Rai, Co-founder and CEO of Termgrid. "As AI adoption continues to mature, the firms that integrate technology most effectively into everyday workflows will be best positioned to compete."

About the survey

Select private capital professionals were invited to take part in the survey in June 2026. The results reflect a broad range of views drawn from the Americas (56%), EMEA (42%) and APAC (4%).

Survey respondents reflect a broad array of private capital participants including sponsors (33%), private credit funds (29%), bank lenders (32%) and others (6%). Respondents from sponsor and private credit firms reported their assets under management as follows: over $10 billion (34%), $5–10 billion (20%), under $5 billion (43%), and evergreen structures (3%). For full details of the survey visit app.termgrid.com/termgrid-pulse/private-capital-h2-2026-outlook/

About Termgrid

Termgrid is the market-leading software platform purpose-built for private capital markets. It was created by industry professionals to solve the inefficiencies in the financing process, streamlining the end-to-end workflow for all deal participants to drive efficiency and insight at every stage of a transaction.

Currently over 1,600 institutions and 30k finance professionals across the borrower, lender and deal advisory communities use Termgrid to execute and manage their financings or participate in transactions. Termgrid is headquartered in London and New York, learn more at www.termgrid.com

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SOURCE Termgrid Inc.