NB Private Equity Partners Limited (LON:NBPE), the $1.3bn1 listed private equity investment company managed by Neuberger Berman, has announced its results for the six months to 30 June 2025.
Highlights from six months to 30 June 2025
- Net Assets of $1,283 million – NAV per share of $28.14 (£20.53) a return of 4.0% in the six months
- Performance driven by 1.9% increase in private company valuations ex-FX, alongside positive contributions from quoted holdings and foreign exchange
- Continued good operating performance – aggregate LTM revenue and EBITDA growth of 8.8% and 9.8% respectively
- $68 million of proceeds received in the period, with a further $18 million received since June; visibility on a number of further realisations in 2H 2025
- ~739k shares repurchased at a 29% discount to NAV, resulting in $0.09 per share NAV accretion
- 1H 2025 dividend of $0.47 per share paid in February (~$22 million)
- Well positioned to take advantage of investment opportunities – $284 million of cash and undrawn credit line available
Peter von Lehe, Managing Director and Head of Investment Solutions and Strategy at Neuberger Berman commented:
“NBPE delivered a NAV total return of 4.0% in USD over the six months to 30 June 2025, with growth largely driven by the largest private companies, alongside gains from our quoted holdings and positive foreign exchange tailwinds.
Following a pause in activity early in the second quarter, as the year has progressed renewed momentum in the exit environment has provided a supportive backdrop for potential realisations. While the timing and pace of a sustained rebound remains uncertain, with a number of companies in the portfolio that we believe are ‘exit ready’, NBPE is well placed to benefit as conditions improve.”
Paul Daggett, Managing Director at Neuberger Berman, continued:
“NBPE’s portfolio delivered resilient operating performance over the last twelve months, achieving weighted average LTM revenue growth of 8.8% and LTM EBITDA growth of 9.8%. This was driven by strong organic growth and successful M&A activity, alongside margin enhancements across NBPE’s portfolio. We think many companies have benefitted from sector expertise of the underlying private equity sponsors and their ongoing optimisation and value creation efforts. We are pleased with the portfolio’s operating performance, particularly in light of a challenging start in the second quarter, and we believe there are good reasons to be optimistic about the portfolio’s overall positioning.”
| As of 30 June 2025 | YTD | 1 Year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
| NAV TR (USD)* Annualised | 4.0% | 6.3% | 8.6% 2.8% | 80.8% 12.6% | 165.1% 10.2% |
| MSCI World TR (USD)* Annualised | 9.8% | 16.8% | 68.0% 18.9% | 101.9% 15.1% | 189.9% 11.2% |
| Share price TR (GBP)* Annualised | (7.6%) | (6.9%) | 10.4% 3.3% | 91.6% 13.9% | 185.1% 11.0% |
| FTSE All-Share TR (GBP)* Annualised | 9.1% | 11.2% | 35.5% 10.7% | 67.3% 10.8% | 92.7% 6.8% |
*Reflects cumulative returns over the time periods shown and are not annualised.
Chairman’s statement for the six months to 30 June 2025
As of 30 June 2025, NBPE’s NAV per share was $28.14 (£20.53), a NAV total return for the six months of 4.0%. On a constant currency basis NBPE’s private companies, which make up 94% of the portfolio, delivered a return of 1.9% in the period. In particular second quarter performance struck an optimistic tone, with private companies producing encouraging NAV growth, with meaningful gains reported across many of NBPE’s largest investments. Over the six months, this performance was enhanced by positive foreign exchange movements which added a further $35 million, or 2.7% and a 3.7% increase in the value of our quoted holdings, which represent 6% of the portfolio. Performance continued to improve through 31 August 2025, with NBPE reporting year to date NAV TR of 4.5%.
Underlying operating performance remains resilient, with growing LTM Revenue and LTM EBITDA
The portfolio continues to report resilient operating progress, generating weighted average LTM revenue growth of 8.8% and LTM EBITDA growth of 9.8%. This growth was driven by a number of factors, including organic revenue growth, M&A, and operational enhancements to drive cost synergies.
Performance across NBPE’s 10 largest investments, which represent 31% of fair value, was particularly strong, reporting weighted average LTM revenue growth of 13.7% and LTM EBITDA growth of 15.9%. In addition, while early in their value creation journey, NBPE’s investments made in 2024 continue to perform well as a cohort.
The portfolio’s valuation multiple was 15.4x EV/EBITDA, with a weighted average net debt/EBITDA multiple of 5.4x. EBITDA growth has resulted in the overall portfolio’s leverage multiple remaining relatively unchanged, with some companies increasing debt levels to support M&A or other value creation strategies.
Realisations across the portfolio continue, driven by a number of full and partial exits
Realisation activity in the broader buyout market showed a considerable slowdown in 2023 and into the first half of 2024, before showing signs of a rebound in the second half of the last year. Despite a more positive start to 2025, ‘Liberation Day’ in April caused significant market volatility and uncertainty which again led to many sale processes being paused and a reduction in activity. We are hopeful for renewed activity in the latter stages of 2025 and are seeing increasing signs of positive momentum in the exit environment.
Against this backdrop NBPE generated $68 million in realisations in the first half of 2025, the majority of which was received in the first quarter, with a further $18 million of proceeds received since June 20252. Realisations year to date have been at an aggregate uplift of 13% to December 2024 values3. Looking ahead, we anticipate an additional $41 million from a number of realisations which are expected to close in the coming months. Taken together, this would bring total 2025 realisations to approximately $128 million, or 10% of opening portfolio value, with the potential for further realisations in the latter part of the year.
Discounts remain wide in the sector
Discounts across the listed private sector remain wide, in part a reflection of sentiment towards investment companies generally and partly a response to the more muted NAV performance across private equity as a whole.
Despite NBPE reporting positive NAV returns in US Dollars over the past six months, NBPE’s share price, which is quoted in GBP, declined 7.6% over the same period. Following a sector wide sell off leading up to and immediately following ‘Liberation Day’, NBPE’s share price recovered somewhat, though many of the share prices across the listed private equity sector remained under pressure. There was a rebound in the middle of July, however, low trading volumes in August and weaker market sentiment in September led to this momentum fading and the share price closed at £1,440 pence as at 24 September 2025, with the discount to GBP NAV per share widening to 30.0%.
Capital allocation
Following the announcement of the updated capital allocation framework in February 2025 which allocated $120 million for share repurchases over the next three years, NBPE has repurchased 1.0 million shares for $20.2 million at a weighted average discount to NAV of 29%, contributing $0.19 in accretion to NAV per share. Since June we have increased the level of buybacks, repurchasing approximately 297k shares for approximately $5.8 million4.
This buyback activity has been in addition to the $0.94 per share, or approximately $43 million, returned to shareholders this year by way of dividends. Since the inception of NBPEs dividend policy in 2013, over $400 million has been returned to shareholders by way of dividends.
Strong balance sheet
NBPE continues to maintain a strong balance sheet, supported by its co-investment model and minimal unfunded commitments. As at 30 June 2025, the company held $74 million in cash and liquid investments, with an additional $210 million of capacity available on the credit facility. The investment level was 101%, at the lower end of the target 100–110% range. This financial flexibility allows NBPE to pursue new investments, maintain dividend payments, and fund an increasing level of share buybacks without compromising balance sheet stability.
While the current market environment has limited exit opportunities, it has created an attractive environment for investors who are able to be capital providers to the private equity industry. Given its position in the market, Neuberger Berman has a strong pipeline of potential investments, particularly in areas of mid-life co-investments which we believe is an attractive opportunity for NBPE. In early September, NBPE completed one additional new platform investment of $10 million in Infra Group, a leading infrastructure service provider.
New Non-executive Director
As part of the Board succession planning, Caroline Chan has been appointed as an independent non-executive Director of the Company, effective 18 September 2025. This appointment reflects the Board’s decision temporarily to increase the size of the Board from five to six directors ensuring a smooth transition in anticipation of Trudi Clark’s retirement from the Board at the 2026 AGM. Caroline is a Guernsey resident and brings over 30 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer, with significant expertise in investment funds, banking, and commercial law gained in Guernsey, London and Hong Kong. In addition to her current roles, Caroline has held a number of senior legal and regulatory roles and directorships within leading firms and Guernsey organisations.
Outlook
Over the past three years, benchmark global buyout returns were 2.6% p.a., 3.5% over the past year and 1% in the first quarter, highlighting the headwinds that have persisted since the peak years of 2020 and 2021. Listed private equity funds have not been insulated from this, with performance falling short of both expectations and historical standards.
While NB Private Equitr Partners continues to report double digit annualised five and 10 year NAV TR, its performance over the past three years, LTM and year to date has been impacted by these market headwinds, particularly muted realisations. The average age of the portfolio is now 5.6 years, well above NBPE’s historical norms. On a positive note, this means that the portfolio has a number of high quality ‘exit ready’ companies which should drive liquidity and performance as markets improve. Conversely, the lower level of realisations has limited our ability to recycle proceeds into new investments which we believe has weighed on recent performance.
We believe in the advantages of the co-investment model and in Neuberger Berman’s capabilities, and NBPE’s underlying companies continue to exhibit attractive fundamentals, demonstrated by their growth metrics and resilience. The Board and Manager, however, remain focused on the share price performance and the level of NBPE’s discount. We continue to believe NBPE’s share price discount does not accurately reflect the value of the portfolio, nor the Board’s confidence in it. While at the current levels of discount, buybacks are accretive to NAV, buybacks alone are not the solution to narrowing the discount and improving total shareholder returns. Alongside continuing to broaden the shareholder base and raise the profile of NBPE through increased investor relations and marketing, the Board and the Manager also recognise that a significant driver in narrowing NBPE’s discount must be for underlying performance to improve.
Encouragingly, there are growing positive signs that the exit environment is gaining momentum . The timing and pace of any sustained rebound, however, remains uncertain and the Board and Manager are exploring options to drive performance, and deliver long-term shareholder value. Portfolio companies generally continue to perform well, reporting resilient revenue and EBITDA growth and we believe there are good reasons to be optimistic about the portfolio’s overall positioning. Any increase in realisation activity has the potential to drive NAV growth, enhance liquidity and, alongside accretive share buybacks and dividend payments, provide the opportunity to continue refreshing the portfolio by investing into what the Manager believes is an attractive investment environment.
William Maltby
Chairman
24 September 2025
