Buyout funds that hold onto investments for longer periods achieve lower multiples compared with those that have shorter holding periods, according to software provider eFront.

In Europe, fully-realised 10-year small and mid-market buyout funds with the shortest time-to-liquidity —the time before capital is returned to investors — generate returns of 2.36x on average, while those with the longest holding periods return 1.59x. Large and mega buyout funds with the shortest and longest holding periods return 1.99x and 1.5x, respectively.