Why Liquidity Matters: Inside Europe’s Growing Secondary Market With Insights From Siena Secondary Fund — 0100 Weekly Brief
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More and more people across the startup world are turning to secondary sales as a practical way to get liquidity without waiting for a big exit. Founders, investors, and employees are using them to unlock value earlier, long before an IPO or acquisition comes into play.
The latest State of European Tech report by Atomico shows that VCs now raise these options much earlier—sometimes in the very first fundraising rounds, and keep checking in as the company grows. This makes the whole process feel more natural and gives founders clearer choices long before a complete exit is even possible.
It’s not just founders and VCs changing how they think. Long-term investors, especially LPs, are also becoming much more active in the secondary market.
Recent data from Jefferies shows a significant increase in LP-led secondary deals, with many companies selling for the first time. Slow exits and longer fund timelines mean LPs need new ways to free up cash and rebalance their portfolios, and secondaries are now among the most reliable tools for doing so.
These changes are helping Europe move closer to the more established secondary market seen in the US. More funds are entering the space, the process is becoming easier to understand, and people across the ecosystem are getting more comfortable with the idea that selling early isn’t a bad sign—it’s just good portfolio management.
As the market grows, investors who wait on the sidelines risk missing out on real opportunities. To dig deeper into what’s driving all this change, we spoke with Rando Rannus, General Partner at Siena Secondary Fund, one of the few funds in Europe focused on this growing space.
His insights help explain why liquidity matters right now and what Europe needs to unlock the full potential of the secondary market.
Bridging The Liquidity Gap in Europe’s Venture Ecosystem
As traditional exits continue to be delayed, secondaries are becoming a realistic option for founders, investors, and employees to access capital without requiring a full sale or IPO.
Rando Rannus has a front-row seat in following this trend. He spends his time working with people across the ecosystem who want more flexible options, and he’s seeing liquidity discussions happen much earlier than before.
Instead of waiting for a big exit years down the line, many teams are now using secondary deals to take some money off the table while still staying invested in the company’s long-term growth.
While the US has been doing secondary deals at scale for years, Europe is now starting to follow the same path. New secondary-focused funds are launching, the process is getting more standardized, and founders and employees are becoming more aware of their options. As knowledge spreads, more people are learning how pricing works, why discounts exist, and when it actually makes sense to sell.
“Europe has been behind the US, but we’re following the same path. There will be more funds doing secondary deals and more platforms focused on specific markets.”
Rando also points out that the best opportunities aren’t always the headline-grabbing unicorns everyone talks about. Many strong, fast-growing companies from past funding cycles are now mature enough to be great secondary targets. This makes them appealing to investors who want lower risk and quicker returns than early-stage venture capital can offer.
Decoding VC Secondaries Valuation in a New Market Reality
The VC secondary market has become much more complicated as liquidity needs rise. Exits take longer, and Rafael Le Saux from PwC Luxembourg explains that last-round valuations often don’t show a company’s real value because they ignore things like different share classes, investor rights, and the rise of down rounds.
With fewer clear pricing signals, valuers now rely on a mix of secondary market data, scenario modeling, and judgment to figure out a fair range. Discounts have also become much larger since 2021, often landing between 25–50% depending on how the company is performing and how old the last valuation is.
Secondary investors should not rely solely on the last-round valuation, as it often fails to reflect current market realities, especially in volatile or illiquid environments.
Rafael also points out that both LPs and GPs are increasingly using secondaries, making accurate valuations even more important. Buyers tend to adjust heavily for stale NAVs, slow exits, and market uncertainty, while sellers often expect numbers that no longer match reality.
Looking ahead, AI tools will help make valuations faster and more consistent, but human judgment will still matter. Venture markets move quickly, information is imperfect, and reputation plays a big role, so technology can support the process, but it won’t replace expert decision-making.
🌍 Across the Ecosystem | News & Useful Resources for You
There’s a lot of momentum building around secondaries right now, and people across the ecosystem are paying close attention to what’s driving the change. Founders, VCs, and LPs are all looking for better ways to access liquidity, manage risk, and keep capital moving, especially in a market where traditional exits are taking longer.
As we head into 2026, the big question is how investors will adapt, and who will move fastest to take advantage of a market that’s becoming more active, more specialised, and far more focused on long-term stability.
🗞️ News | CVC Secondary Partners expands into fast-growing credit secondaries market
CVC is expanding its Secondary Partners strategy into the fast-growing credit secondaries market, launching a dedicated global platform led by Partner Henri Lusa.
This move builds on CVC’s €17 billion secondaries platform, which already provides liquidity solutions for GPs and LPs across private equity. The firm sees strong long-term demand for credit secondaries, a market that has more than tripled in volume since 2020 as investors look for more flexible liquidity options.
🗞️ News | Robust growth expected in secondary market for private funds and assets
The secondary market for private funds and assets is expanding rapidly as investors seek liquidity amid a slow exit environment. Ardian’s Vladimir Colas says the surge is being driven by first-time sellers, many of whom return to the market and become repeat participants after experiencing how secondary sales can free up capital.
Even with record activity, he believes the market is still in its early stages and could double or triple in the coming years. With private-market assets expected to climb from US$13 trillion to roughly US$25 trillion in five years, the share traded through secondaries, now just 1.5%, is set to rise as more LPs and GPs turn to these transactions.