Why Hg Capital: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Hg Capital Overview

Founded in 1990, Hg Capital (Hg) is a private equity firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm seeks to invest in businesses located in Europe and North America in the following sectors: information technology, SaaS, software, healthcare, and financial services 

Hg started as Mercury Private Equity – which is the private equity arm of the UK-based asset management firm, Mercury Asset Management plc. In 1997, Merrill Lynch acquired Mercury Asset Management.

In December 2000, Hg Capital gained independence and became wholly owned by its Partners and employees after the executives of Mercury Private Equity negotiated with Merrill Lynch.

Hg is one of the leading services and software investors – with offices in San Francisco, Paris, New York, Munich, and London.

Hg Capital AUM

According to the firm’s website, Hg Capital has around $65 billion in assets under management and invests on behalf of 200+ LP clients from different parts of the world.

Hg Capital Interview Process & Questions

The interview process can vary for each candidate based on the firm’s decision. However, if you interview at Hg Capital or similar firms, you’ll find some consistency in the general nature of their interview process.

• You’ll go through 4 to 6 rounds of interviews.
• The HR team or junior investment professionals will supervise the initial interviews, while the more senior staff conduct the later rounds.
• Entire process could take up to several weeks, unless it’s “on-cycle” or “on-campus” recruiting.

When you interview at Hg Capital, prepare to answer fit questions, behavioral questions, and technical / investing questions.

If you need more expert tips, in-depth lessons, and frameworks to help you better prepare for interviews, check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Why Hg Capital

Interviewers almost always ask the question “Why this firm?”

This is a common and important question because they like to know if you have solid reasons why you specifically want to work at their firm.

If you’ve done networking, grab this opportunity to mention whoever you’ve met and how they’ve made a really amazing impression on you.

To come up with a more impressive and relevant answer, one thing you can do is to listen to interviews with the firm’s founders, investors, and key personnels.

Check out this interview with Justin Von Simson, Managing Partner at Hg Capital:

More interviews

• Interview with Luke Finch – Head of Client Services at Hg Capital
• Matthew Rourke, Partner at Hg Capital, discusses the type of businesses they look to invest in

Hg Capital Case Study

Ideal candidates at firms like Hg Capital need to have sufficient technical knowledge and good communication skills. Firms use case studies to evaluate these two attributes.

Most case studies dive deep on investment recommendations and financial modeling. However, junior roles are often required to perform a cold calling case study as well.

For in-depth lessons on case studies, check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Hg Capital Salary & Compensation

Compensation for investment professionals at Hg Capital are quite competitive. According to Glassdoor, you can receive an estimated total pay of $135,532 per year if you’re an Associate, while there’s no recent data for analyst hires..

This figure represents the median, and can still vary depending on your level of experience and qualifications.

Associate

Hg Capital Careers, Jobs, & Internships

To find open roles at Hg Capital, head over to our job board which also features job vacancies at similar firms.

Hg Capital Portfolio & Investments

According to Crunchbase, Hg Capital has already made 53 investments since inception and operates 8 funds. Some of their notable deals include Prophix Software, InsightSoftware, and Litera.

Notable Transaction: IFS

IFS helps companies that manufacture and distribute products build and maintain assets and effectively handle service-focused operations by developing and delivering cloud enterprise softwares.

Over the past couple of years, IFS has demonstrated a strong path to growth. In July 2020, IFS was valued at $billion and in 2022, it was valued at $10 billion. In addition, IFS regularly provides updates on financial performance despite being a private company.

In March 2022, Hg Capital announced that the firm became a significant minority investor in IFS. The investment amount was undisclosed but the valuation for IFS is $10 billion.

Existing investor EQT remained as the majority shareholder, with Hg and TA Associates as minority shareholders.

Next Steps

If you’re passionate about technology, software services, and innovation, Hg Capital could be the perfect firm for you. One great resource you can use to maximize your chances of landing a role at the firm is my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Growth Equity Interview Guide is a self-paced online course where professionals can learn how to effectively answer growth equity interview questions and properly conduct financial exercises such as case studies, financial modeling, and many more.

Check out the course and start gaining a competitive edge today!