Railpen, the UK's Railways Pension Trustee Company, is pursuing single-asset continuation vehicle positions to strengthen relationships with private equity managers while generating returns aligned with its investment strategy. The £34 billion ($45.8 billion) public pension fund has developed internal capabilities to invest directly in continuation vehicles rather than allocating to secondaries funds broadly.

The move reflects growing institutional appetite for GP-led secondary transactions, which allow pension funds to maintain exposure to high-performing assets while providing liquidity to existing investors. Pravi Prakash of a private markets investment manager noted that Railpen's direct approach positions it to capture value in this expanding market segment.

Direct CV investing requires sophisticated due diligence capabilities and deep understanding of underlying portfolio companies. Railpen's strategy suggests institutional investors are increasingly comfortable with the complexity of these transactions, viewing them as complementary to traditional private equity programmes.

This approach could accelerate the growth of the continuation vehicle market, potentially drawing other large pension schemes toward direct GP-led deal participation rather than fund-level allocations.