Private Equity Central Europe Confidence Survey 2025

Confidence remains strong though is tempering among deal-doers in Central Europe, with the latest sentiment barometer of CFO Report bringing to an end to one of the most impressive climbs in optimism in its 20-year history.

Sentiment regarding the Central European economies is strong, with a third of respondents (30%) expecting conditions to improve and nearly half (48%) expecting them to remain the same. This encouraging sentiment is driving confidence, with economic expectations typically steering the Index.

Investors in the region remain refreshingly optimistic about the availability of debt finance, with a third expecting availability to increase (31%) and nearly two-thirds expecting liquidity to remain the same (63%) for the year ahead. The sentiment mirrors that seen in our last Survey and is likely a reflection of the private credit community now operating in the region, both from local and global lenders.

"The dent in confidence shows that ongoing uncertainty does take its toll, but that the Index remains higher than its historical average (115) is incredibly encouraging. It is clear that investors in Central Europe have the experience and conviction to transact across cycles and create real values in the businesses they back,"says Michał Tokarski, Partner in Charge of Advisory, Head of M&A, Deloitte Poland, Baltics and Ukraine.

Their investments make a meaningful difference to the companies they grow, typically helping to boost profits and headcount by helping businesses to grow faster and more sustainably.

Activity levels may gain pace as vendor pricing expectations appear to have stabilised. Respondents reporting price increases over the second half of 2024 fell from 12% to 3%, while those noting decreases rose from 18% to 31%. Sentiment is mixed for the year ahead: Expectations for price increases fell from 14% to 9%, while there was a slight increase in those expecting decreases (22%, up from 20%).