MiddleGround Capital, an operationally focused private equity firm investing in middle-market industrial and specialty distribution businesses across North America and Europe, has earned a five-star rating in the 2025 assessment conducted by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The firm received its highest score to date in the Direct – Private Equity module, improving from four stars last year to five stars in 2025. MiddleGround also earned four-star ratings in both the Policy, Governance and Strategy module and the Confidence Building Measures module. Overall, the firm reported results above the peer median in two of the three categories in which it participated. John Stewart, Founding and Managing Partner of MiddleGround Capital, said the results reflect a deliberate and sustained approach to responsible investment. He noted that the firm joined PRI to benchmark itself against global best practices and to strengthen how environmental, social, and governance considerations are embedded into investment and ownership decisions.

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MiddleGround became a PRI signatory in September 2020, marking the first time a sub-$1 billion assets-under-management industrial buyout firm joined the global initiative. Since then, the firm has consistently reported and improved its performance under PRI’s assessment framework, which evaluates how investors integrate ESG considerations across governance, strategy, and investment execution. As a signatory, MiddleGround participates in PRI’s global reporting system, which is widely used by institutional investors to assess responsible investment practices and compare them against peers. The PRI framework emphasizes transparency, accountability, and the identification of long-term ESG-related risks and opportunities.

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PRI assessments are based on information voluntarily reported by signatories and scored using a peer-comparison methodology. Ratings are intended to provide insight into ESG-related policies and practices during the reporting period, rather than to assess financial performance or predict future investment outcomes. MiddleGround noted that the firm did not provide compensation to PRI in connection with its assessment or ratings, and that historical ratings are provided for context only. While the assessment highlights the firm’s current ESG integration practices, MiddleGround emphasized that PRI scores do not constitute investment advice or assurances of future performance, and that sustainability commitments remain subject to evolving risks and operating conditions. The latest results position MiddleGround among the higher-performing private equity managers within PRI’s 2025 reporting cohort, reinforcing its stated focus on operational improvement, governance discipline, and long-term value creation.

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