In the second of our series on private equity, we are going to discuss one of Europe’s premier operators. Established as Schroder Ventures 35 years ago, the firm evolved into Permira in 1997. Today they have more than €60bn under management, employ over 450 people and operate in 16 offices worldwide.

Permira has backed over 300 businesses; many of them, like Hugo Boss, Dr. Martens and McAfee software, are household names.

Tara Alhadeff, Partner responsible for brand strategy in the consumer space, discusses Permira’s approach, and in particular why ‘heritage brands need a different lens’ and ‘why, with heritage brands, magic can happen’.

She discusses the examples of Dr. Martens and Golden Goose, both current investments, and references the past deals of Hugo Boss and Valentino.

Tara talks about the need for long-term custody of great brands and why in some cases the size of the brand is bigger than the size of the business. She also discusses the importance of management, the relationship between Permira and portfolio companies, and how they think about exits.

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The Money Maze Podcast is sponsored by Schroders, Bremont Watches, LiveTrade and Mintus.