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EMK Capital
EMK Capital operates from 11 Hanover Square in London, with the partnership led by Edmund Lazarus and Mark Joseph.
EMK Capital
EMK Capital operates from 11 Hanover Square in London, with the partnership led by Edmund Lazarus and Mark Joseph. The firm makes control-oriented investments in mid-market European businesses, positioning itself as an active partner to management teams rather than a passive financial sponsor. It declined to disclose its founding year or its current assets under management. EMK pursues buyouts, management buy-ins, carve-outs, succession-driven transactions, and growth-stage investments across a broad range of asset classes, including private equity, venture capital, and special situations. The firm has recently deployed capital into Globe Groupe, WeAreProject, and Argos Wityu — three European companies it acquired majority stakes in. EMK prefers to lead transactions, often using co-investment structures alongside institutional partners, and its geographic reach extends from its London headquarters to 15 additional offices across Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and Asia — including Berlin, Milan, Madrid, Dubai, New York, and Singapore. A 37-person team operates from those global locations, undertaking both direct deals and fund-like programmatic capital deployment. EMK has not publicly disclosed a flagship fund size, but in 2024 the firm published its Responsible Investment Report and received five-star ratings across all categories from the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. In a recent operational move, it appointed Tim Sullivan as Senior GP Adviser, signaling a continued emphasis on executive engagement and portfolio oversight. EMK's structural differentiator lies in its intensely distributed local footprint — rare among mid-market European buyout firms. With 16 offices, many outside typical financial capitals, the firm builds origination capacity in regional economies where proprietary, succession-driven deals surface before they reach competitive auctions. This architecture supports its claim that it sources investments through relationships, not intermediaries.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
11 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JJ, United Kingdom
Additional offices
Amsterdam, Netherlands · Berlin, Germany · Brussels, Belgium · Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Frankfurt, Germany · Jersey · Madrid, Spain · Milan, Italy · Mumbai, India · Munich, Germany · New York, United States · Oslo, Norway · Paris, France · Singapore · Zurich, Switzerland
Principals
Edmund Lazarus
Managing Partner
Mark Joseph
Managing Partner
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at EMK Capital?
Managing Partners Edmund Lazarus and Mark Joseph lead the firm's investment decisions, supported by a 37-person cross-border team operating out of London. While the specific internal investment committee structure is not publicly detailed, the firm's lean senior leadership and the absence of a sprawling partnership base suggest that deal approval is tightly held by the founders.
How does EMK Capital source proprietary deal flow?
EMK's deal origination relies on its physical presence in 16 cities — from Oslo to Mumbai — many of which are outside traditional auction hubs. This local footprint gives the firm early visibility into family-owned business successions, corporate carve-outs, and management buy-in opportunities that rarely become broadly marketed processes.
Is EMK Capital structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a conventional private equity firm?
EMK Capital is an institutional asset manager raising third-party capital, not a single family office. It operates like a conventional, independent private equity firm that pursues majority buyouts and growth investments on behalf of external limited partners, without any disclosed connection to a single source of family wealth.
Does EMK Capital participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
EMK primarily executes direct, control-oriented investments in operating companies. The available evidence does not show it making fund commitments to other GPs, but it is open to co-investing alongside external partners on specific transactions, particularly in complex situations where a syndicate strengthens execution.
What investment stages does EMK Capital typically target?
EMK targets the full lifecycle of a private company's ownership transition, including buyouts, management buy-ins, succession-driven acquisitions, corporate divestitures, and late-stage growth capital. While it will consider earlier-stage venture deals, the firm's stated focus on 'transformational growth' and majority stakes places it firmly in the middle-market buyout and expansion stage.
How is EMK Capital related to any parent entity or spinout?
There is no public record of EMK Capital being a successor to a prior firm or part of a larger financial group. It appears to have been established as an independent partnership by Edmund Lazarus and Mark Joseph, operating under its own brand since inception, with no disclosed affiliation to a parent or prior platform.
What is EMK Capital's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
EMK actively engages in co-investment structures, seeing them as a way to manage concentration risk and leverage sector-specific expertise. The firm's strategy reference to 'co-investment' and 'complex situations' indicates it frequently brings in like-minded institutional partners to share risk and governance on larger or more complicated deals.
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