Manjit Dale and Stephen Robertson, with backing from The Tudor Group, established TDR Capital in 2002. Manjit and Stephen have worked together since 1995 and were instrumental in building DB Capital Partners, the European leveraged buyout arm of Deutsche Bank, into one of the leading buyout firms in Europe.

Under Manjit's and Stephen's management, the DB Capital Partners' fund showed excellent returns for investors, with a total internal rate of return of 126% in aggregate and returning 3.6x the invested capital. Examples of investments include Center Parcs, Virgin Rail, Rapala and Punch Taverns.

In 2002 Manjit and Stephen left Deutsche Bank to start TDR Capital. The first fund, TDR Capital I, a €500 million fund, was closed in 2003 and has to date returned 2.1x the amounts invested and an internal rate of return of over 65%. TDR Capital II was closed with commitments of €2.2 billion in 2006, including significant commitments from the TDR team. Investments in TDR I and II include Pizza Express, ASK, Algeco, Williams Scotsman, Phoenix and VPS Holdings.