The co-chief executive of Partners Group is remarkably calm and softly spoken when he meets Financial News between shareholder meetings at London’s Landmark Hotel.

It belies an almost hyper level of activity at one of Europe's largest private equity groups that has transformed it from about 45 employees with €3.1 billion of assets under management in 2000 to close to 800 staff and €42 billion of AUM today. It wants AUM to hit $60 billion (€52.8 billion) in the next five years, according to a results call in 2014.