Private Secondary Markets: A New Liquidity Infrastructure?
Alejandro MartĂnez ·
Listen to this article~5 min
As IPOs slow and valuations drop, private markets are turning to secondary liquidity. A recent roundtable explored how founders, employees, and funds can find exits without waiting for a full sale.
Liquidity in private markets is becoming a defining challenge for private finance. With IPOs slowing down, M&A activity contracting, valuations dropping from their 2020-2021 peaks, and funds under intense pressure to return capital to investors, a shared need has emerged: giving shareholders of private companies ways to find liquidity without waiting for a full exit.
This was the central theme at the thematic meetings of the College Financement, organized by France FinTech on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Hosted by Agathe Motte, Partner at Ashurst, and moderated by Philippe RodrĂguez, Managing Partner at Avolta, the roundtable brought together Alexis Le Portz, Partner at Truffle Capital; Arnaud Briane, Senior Account Executive at Crowdcube; Guillaume Delhommeau, Head of Partnerships at Lise; and Julien Hostache, President and Co-founder of Enerfip.
### 1. Secondary Markets: A Sign of a Mature Private Market
Illiquidity has long been seen as a natural feature of private investing. Putting money into a startup, a growth-stage SME, or a private project meant accepting a long time horizon and an uncertain exit, in exchange for potentially higher returns. That model still holds, but it’s under real strain today.
Traditional exit routes have slowed. IPOs are rarer, M&A deals are less fluid, and venture capital funds face a tougher equation: they need to keep supporting their portfolio companies while also meeting their own investors’ expectations. The ability to show strong DPI (Distributions to Paid-In Capital) is becoming critical for raising new funds.
Secondary markets step in as a complementary tool. They don’t replace IPOs, industrial sales, or primary fundraising. What they do is provide breathing room in what have become longer holding cycles.
### 2. Same Demand, Very Different Needs
The growth of secondary markets covers a wide range of realities.
For founders, it might mean locking in some of the value they’ve created without giving up control or slowing growth. For employees, liquidity turns a long-term promise into real money—especially when they hold stock options or other equity incentives. It also becomes a retention tool.
For investment funds, secondary markets serve a different purpose: selling a portfolio position, reallocating capital, meeting a fund’s deadline, or preparing for a new raise. In some cases, the transaction might even involve an entire portfolio or fund—a practice already common in private equity but still emerging in venture capital.
And for individual investors, liquidity often meets more personal needs. Someone who bought a bond with a multi-year maturity might want to sell it before it matures. The challenge is making that exit possible in a secure and understandable way.
### 3. Three Models for Organizing Liquidity
Several models are emerging to structure this liquidity.
**The organized liquidity window.** Often managed closely with the company, this model brings buyers and sellers together in a controlled setting. The platform handles the transaction, groups investors, and simplifies cap table management. In this approach—exemplified by Crowdcube—the company stays in control: it sets the timing, narrative, valuation, and exit terms.
This model works especially well for companies with a strong community or an existing investor base. It also allows combining a primary raise with a secondary pocket, using a single platform.
**The continuous secondary marketplace.** Unlike timed windows, some platforms operate an ongoing marketplace where investors can trade shares at any time. This gives more flexibility but requires careful management of pricing and information flow.
**The direct negotiation model.** Here, buyers and sellers find each other through advisors or networks, negotiating terms privately. This is less structured but can work for larger, more complex deals.
Each model has trade-offs. Organized windows offer control and simplicity but limited timing. Continuous markets provide flexibility but can create pricing challenges. Direct negotiations allow customization but lack efficiency.
> "Secondary markets are not a replacement for IPOs or M&A. They are a bridge—giving investors and companies more options in a world where exits take longer." — Philippe RodrĂguez, Managing Partner at Avolta
### What This Means for the US Market
While this discussion focused on Europe, the lessons apply globally. US private markets face similar pressures: longer holding periods, fewer IPOs, and growing demand for liquidity from limited partners. The models being tested in Europe could offer a blueprint for US platforms looking to build secondary infrastructure.
For professionals tracking European payments news and EU payment system news, the rise of secondary markets in private equity signals a broader shift toward more flexible, investor-friendly structures. And with systems like wero Europe enabling faster, cheaper transactions, the infrastructure for these markets is only getting stronger.
The bottom line? Private markets are maturing. Secondary liquidity isn’t a niche anymore—it’s becoming a core feature of how private finance works.