ICG Reports FY26 Growth, Eyes €10B Europe IX Close as Real Estate Emerges as Key Driver

ICG, the global alternative asset manager, reported a strong fiscal year 2026, with fee-related earnings rising 23% to £350 million and its flagship European structured capital vehicle, Europe IX, on track to surpass a €10 billion fundraising target — a milestone that would make it the largest European structured capital fund ever raised globally at final close, according to the firm.

The results, detailed in ICG's Annual Report & Accounts 2026 and an accompanying letter from Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer Benoît Durteste, underscore how ICG is gaining share in a private markets environment where global fundraising AUM has declined 21% compared to 2021 and the number of funds raised has halved over the same period, citing data from the Bain Global Private Equity Report 2026.

Real Estate and Scaling Strategies Drive Fee Growth

Real estate, infrastructure, and LP secondaries represent emerging drivers of future growth for ICG, the firm said, building on its flagship strategies in structured capital, GP-led secondaries, and European direct lending. Collectively, these scaling strategies accounted for 19% of ICG's management fees in FY26, up from 13% in FY21.

Within real estate, ICG's Metropolitan II fund closed above its target at €1.4 billion in March 2026. ICG also closed Infrastructure Europe II above its target during the year.

ICG noted that two of the broader challenges facing the alternatives industry — liquidity strains within evergreen structures and exposure to businesses at direct risk of AI disruption — have limited direct impact on the firm. Its software exposure across the group portfolio is approximately 10%, and in private debt specifically, ICG does not operate evergreen funds.

Europe IX and Market Share Gains in Structured Capital

Europe IX, ICG's European structured capital fund, is on track to surpass its €10 billion target, which would make it both ICG's largest-ever commingled fund and the largest European structured capital fund globally at final close, the firm said, citing data from WithIntelligence as of May 7, 2026. This underlines how ICG is gaining share in a sector that is continuing to consolidate both organically and inorganically, Durteste wrote in the shareholder letter.

DPI Performance and Institutional Client Base Underpin Fundraising

ICG cited its distributions to paid-in capital performance as a key differentiator in the current fundraising environment, where institutional investors have placed increasing weight on realized returns over paper net asset values. The firm said its DPI performance across multiple strategies has underpinned its fundraising campaigns.

ICG reported $126 billion in assets under management and said it closed six funds at or above target in the last 24 months. The firm's institutional client base grew 11% over the course of the year to more than 870 clients globally, including six of the 10 largest U.S. pension funds and seven of the 10 largest sovereign wealth funds, according to the firm.

The firm said it surpassed its fundraising expectations by a meaningful margin, putting it on track to deliver its four-year fundraising target potentially a year ahead of schedule. The aggregate client capital raised figure for FY26 was not specified in the shareholder letter.

Balance Sheet and Outlook

For the year ended March 31, 2026, ICG reported fee-related earnings of £350 million, equivalent to 120 pence per share, and generated £861 million of operating cash flow. Performance fee income for the year was £127 million. The firm reported £1.5 billion of available liquidity and net debt of £113 million. Over the last five years, ICG's fee-related earnings have grown at an annualised rate of 30%.

ICG also launched the second vintage of its LP Secondaries strategy during the year, which the firm said has a strong fundraising pipeline.

"Steadfast investment discipline and consistency of investment performance through cycles will drive long-term growth and shareholder value, rather than AUM gathering at the inevitable expense of returns," Durteste wrote. "The current challenges in parts of the alternative asset management industry are making this very clear."

ICG also noted a long-term strategic and equity partnership with Amundi, announced in November 2025, as an incremental source of growth in the wealth channel. Wealth capital currently accounts for 4% of ICG's third-party AUM, excluding CLOs and listed vehicles.

The firm said it continues to build with a long-term perspective, focused on serving institutional clients and delivering value for shareholders, with real estate and infrastructure among the strategies it expects to contribute meaningfully to growth over the coming decade.