Switzerland's Brenninkmeijer family, which made a large proportion of their fortune from retail group C&A, has put $600m (€483m) into Centre Partners Management, a US private equity firm, as part of their €2.5bn expansion in the asset class.

The investment follows a €650m contribution to the UK's Englefield Capital, set up by Dominic Shorthouse, formerly at Warburg Pincus, and Etienne de Villiers, a Walt Disney Europe executive. This formed the bulk of Englefield's €700m fund.