Opinion Waterland

I can speak to some degree on this, mostly with a focus on the fund-level / DACH/Benelux operations (not sure if there's significant variance in the GB/Nordics offices). Note I have interviewed early rounds for manager position (typically 6-8 years experience for manager 1). 

• Returns - top quartile (I believe even >2.5x net). Due to investment strategy (see investment style) both IRR and MoM are top notch compared to other funds. They consistently perform in top-10 mid-market funds in terms of returns globally. The significant €2.5bn pool raise speaks to this track record.
• Brand name - Excellent, especially with LPs. One trick pony but have perfected the craft (see investment style). Probably not favourite house of advisors given they do quite a lot in-house and aren't know to be auction boosters, so brand depends from whose perspective.
• Investment style - Waterland is a distinctive one-trick-pony fund that has gotten very good at buy & build platforms sourced off-market. 90-95% of deals are off-market primary transactions. They typically do not participate in auctions, nor buy assets from other PE houses (few exceptions but generally not). The approach is macro-thematic, such as ageing population, digitalisation, sustainability, etc. Within this, they are willing to go near-greenfield into activities (e.g. digital marketing, physio chain) to buy & build for 5-10 years to build an upper-mid-market asset to divest to a secondary/trade. Main value drivers are (obviously) multiple arb on the add-ons, the smeared out capital allocation boosting IRR, the long investment horizons being very accretive to MoM KPIs, synergy realisation, and general market growth (thematic picks ensure strong fundamental underpinnings). Their experience in subsectors allows them to identify off-market opportunities where they are willing to go smaller to enter a market they like (e.g. successful medical clinics platform in Germany -> identified white spot for roll-up in physio clinics in Germany -> buy & build platform). Points of attention are not fully integrated platforms, complicated scaling (e.g. back-office integrations when doing 1 add-on per month), and sellers markets (competition for assets eroding multiple arb strength). The amount of capital to deploy with a €2.5bn fund is also considerable for their equity tickets, so continuing in their currently well-positioned size bracket is another question.
• Culture - don't know, call some juniors to find out! From what I heard its not suit & tie, but its also a bit more layered and KPI oriented - but cannot confirm this with certainty.
• Responsibilities analyst/associate - have recently reshuffled titles. It is now associate / senior associate / manager. Due to the high add-on volume (see investment style) you get lots of exposure to small deals. Professionals are known in the market as execution-knowledgeable for that reason. That said, in terms of exit opportunities you will have a CV filled with tiny deals, rather than platform investments. Due to long hold period also unlikely to gain much exit experience unless you roll into a port co. So pretty hands on as the (junior) deal team typically works hand-in-hand on add-on with the management team. For the rest typical for a mid-market PE (DD, models, etc.). In addition to add-ons, Waterland is also very active in organic/proactive sourcing (90% of deals are off-market), so expect more time on this vs. a typical mid-market auction house focused on processes.

In terms of comp they are market standard/slightly above for continental Europe (not sure about London/Paris office) on base, but you get exposure to carry early on (senior associate, I believe) which I believe doesn't move up significantly for some time. Salary for senior associates should be around €100k base. Step-up at Manager is also decent on base. Cannot comment on bonus.

Hopefully, that gives a bit of flavour. In any case a good shop to get your training wheels in terms of small deal volume.