MUMBAI: Schroders Capital plans to ramp up investments in India after deploying about a billion dollars over the past decade across primary, secondary and other co-investment transactions, a top executive said.
“Over the last few years, India has seen the lion’s share of deployment in Asia on the back of a geographic reset and we will continue to see a good ramp-up and a steady pace of investments in the country,” Ankita Baheti, co-head, private equity investments Asia at Schroders Capital, told Mint in an interview, adding that the company is scouting for opportunities in sectors including consumer, healthcare, technology and artificial intelligence.
The London-based firm maintains an active presence in Australia and Asian markets such as China and Japan in addition to India, where it has invested for almost two decades.
Schroders Capital, which has backed Indian startups such as and Agrostar, typically invests in small to mid-cap funds spread across venture capital, growth and buyout funds. While the usual size of the funds it invests in ranges from $200 million to about $1.5 billion, it targets an average ticket size of about $50 million including co-investments, Baheti said.
“While we like to work with sector-specialized funds, we have made exceptions based on track record and past performance,” she said.
It is also evaluating strategic collaboration opportunities with (Axis AMC), where it holds a 25% stake, to strengthen its presence in the Indian market.
Baheti noted that valuations in India have remained relatively resilient compared to those in other markets, which reflects the country’s growth expectations and increasing depth of domestic capital. However, investors are becoming more selective, with high-quality businesses that have clear profitability and good governance standards continuing to demand a premium.
“There has been a shift towards more disciplined pricing, with a sharper focus on unit economics and cash flow visibility rather than just top-line growth, noting that these trends are signs of a maturing market,” Baheti said.
Investor exits
Secondaries as a strategy – an important pool of deployment for Schroders Capital – have also grown in prominence in India as early investors look for exits in the private market due to the volatility that has delayed the listing plans of many companies. However, initial public offerings dominate the bulk of exit activity in India.
“We are seeing more instances of direct secondary-focused investments as well as portfolio or strip sales at the GP (general partner)-level to drive liquidity for their existing holdings and return capital to their investors,” she said, without disclosing specific details.
Last year, private equity (PE) and (VC) exits surged to the second highest level, totaling $32.9 billion across 257 exits. Strategic exits rebounded, growing 211% to reach $16 billion and accounting for 48% of total exits during the year, EY said in a report this year.
While liquidity was concentrated in a few strong windows, particularly in June and November, venture capital firm Blume estimates that PE- and VC-backed companies generated about $8.75 billion in liquidity through IPOs and post-IPO exits.
“All these strategies work in a complementary manner and don’t replace traditional exit routes like strategic or trade sales and IPOs. Secondaries give more flexibility in managing outcomes since exit windows are largely cyclical and having multiple liquidity pathways alleviates exit pressures and allows discipline in fund performance,” Baheti said.
Continuation vehicles
As investors look for exit options, she highlighted that there is a clear increase in the adoption of secondary-led solutions with continuation vehicles (CVs) coming to the fore in India.
CVs allow the transfer of high-performing assets from an expiring fund into a newly created fund, extending their holding period and maximizing future growth. Since a fund’s life cannot be in perpetuity, as instructed by regulators, CVs offer an effective exit route for their backers, also called limited partners (LPs).
“It has also been beneficial that some of the leading funds have taken the step to set up CVs, so we are seeing more market acceptance in the space,” Baheti said.
Prominent domestic funds ChrysCapital, Multiples Alternate Asset Management and Kedaara Capital have raised or are in the process of raising such vehicles. Global investors HarbourVest Partners and Pantheon Ventures have anchored such funds and plan to increase their exposure to India, Mint reported earlier.
Other factors like strong support from LPs and regulators have spurred conversations around such vehicles, Baheti noted, adding that there’s been a significant shift towards GP-led opportunities over the past few years. Her comments come on the back of a rise in secondary transactions and specialized funds aimed at facilitating exits for some early backers.
TR Capital concluded stake purchases from VC and PE firms Eight Roads Ventures and Samara Capital Group across SaaS, logistics, healthcare and consumer companies while homegrown firm Kenro Capital acquired stakes in K12, PineLabs and Giva from early investors.
Schroders Capital, part of the Schroders Group, is a global private market investor and had about $112 billion in assets under management as of December 2025. With over 800 employees spread across 25 locations, its strategies span private equity, real estate, infrastructure and impact investing.