Each year 3i invests more than €1bn from our own balance sheet in between 20 and 30 already successful growing businesses to take them to the next level of success. Well-established in Europe, Asia and the US, we are the dominant mid-market firm globally.

As in Buyouts and QPE, it’s important for Growth investors to be able to balance strategic decision making with the attention to detail required to develop a business over time. However, asan active minority shareholder investor, Growth professionals also have to excel at building relationships and influencing people.

It takes these skills to be able to persuade management teams, which often include business owners and founders, of the right direction in which they should take their business and when to do so too. Since we don’t have a controlling stake, we must employ subtler methods to represent our interests.

Prospective Growth investors must therefore enjoy the challenges and rewards of dealing with people first and foremost. In this business, it’s patience and empathy, tact and diplomacy that get the best results.