CVC Capital Partners Ltd. finished gaining Eur7 billion after only six months of gathering investors, edging its competitor Apax Partners LLP who spent almost a year and three months raising Eur6 billion. This means that investors in the European area are only looking at the best performing private equity firms, and does not care about anything less than number one, according to analysts.

The two rivaling private equity companies will be releasing their fundraising figures next week according to unnamed sources. The result of the fundraisers will serve as a standard for Europe's "Big Five" fortunes, currently expected to reach an amount of Eur25 billion.

James Moore, London-based UBS AG's managing director and international co-head of the private-funds group, said that "the reality is that limited partners have insufficient liquidity to recommit to all their existing relationships." He continued the interview, saying: "This is particularly the case when it comes to funds operating in the larger end of the market where the majority of capital was raised pre-crisis. LPs are consolidating relationships."