A senior European investment duo from Warburg Pincus are preparing to leave the firm to establish their own private equity platform, adding to a growing wave of spinouts across the region’s buyout industry, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter as revealing that managing director David Reis and principal Rianne Schipper, both focused on business services and industrials investing, are expected to depart the later this year to pursue an independent venture.
The pair have worked together for roughly a decade at Warburg Pincus, where Schipper joined in 2014 and later partnered with Reis to help build out the firm’s European industrials and business services franchise.
During their tenure, Reis led several notable investments, including stakes in airline services provider Accelya and compliance and supply chain software group Once For All, while also holding board roles across a range of portfolio companies. Schipper has similarly been involved in multiple investments across software, industrial services, and consumer sectors.
Their planned departure reflects an accelerating trend in European private equity, where experienced investors are increasingly leaving large established firms to launch first-time funds. Industry participants say the shift has been supported by strong investor appetite for emerging managers, combined with slower distributions and reduced carry payouts at larger firms, which have traditionally acted as retention mechanisms.
Market observers describe the environment as particularly favourable for spinouts, with fundraising channels increasingly open to smaller, specialised teams with established track records inside major platforms.
The exits also come amid internal restructuring within Warburg Pincus’s European operations, including a reorganisation of its business services and industrials coverage. The changes are expected to realign sector responsibilities across the firm’s technology, financial services, and industrials investment teams.
