Oakley Capital Investments Limited1 (LON:OCI) has announced its final results for the year ended 31 December 2025. OCI is a listed investment company providing consistent, long-term returns in excess of the FTSE All-Share Index by investing in funds managed by Oakley Capital2 (Oakley). This objective has been demonstrated with a 10-year share price total return of +362%, outperforming the FTSE All-Share Index by +239% and the MSCI World Index by +114% over this period.
The Oakley Funds3 invest primarily in unquoted, profitable, pan-European businesses with recurring revenues, and across four core sectors: Technology, Education, Consumer and Business Services. Oakley’s origination capabilities and proven value creation drivers help founders and management teams accelerate growth and produce consistently superior returns for investors.
Portfolio positioned for future outperformance
Highlights for the year
Performance
| ● | Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per share of 738 pence and NAV of £1,233 million |
| ● | Total NAV return per share of +6% (+45 pence), or +3% (+23 pence) excluding the impact of foreign exchange |
| ● | Total shareholder return of 15% |
| ● | Ten-year NAV return CAGR of 15% |
See OCI’s KPIs here.
Portfolio
| ● | Average portfolio company LTM EBITDA growth of 11% (2024: 15%) |
| ● | Average portfolio company valuation multiple (EV/EBITDA) of 16.3x (2024: 16.4x) |
| ● | Average Net Debt/EBITDA multiple of 4.1x (2024: 4.1x) |
| ● | The key NAV drivers within the portfolio were: |
| o Clio (+33 pence): driven by the significant NAV uplift arising from the realisation of vLex | |
| o Phenna Group (+23 pence): rising demand for its testing and inspection services and positive impact of value accretive M&A | |
| o TechInsights (+13 pence): strong performance from the chip intelligence platform as the AI boom drove demand for its services | |
| o Time Out Group: (-32 pence): following the decline in the company’s share price as a result of headwinds in the Media business and a discounted share issuance |
Read more about the portfolio’s performance in the Annual Report here.
Investments
| ● | OCI made a total investment of £197 million, equivalent to 16% of NAV at year-end |
| o £96 million in 10 new platform deals including Brevo, Infravadis, G3 and NOX | |
| o £79 million in follow-on investments including Bridewell’s strategic combination with I-TRACING, and M&A by Affinitas, Infravadis and Konzept & Marketing | |
| o £22 million in new and follow-on venture investments, including Wingspan and ProRata, as well as further direct investment |
Read more about OCI’s new investments here.
Proceeds
| ● | OCI’s look-through share of proceeds from exits and refinancings during the year totalled £92 million including: |
| o £57 million from exits including the sale of vLex at a >6x gross return | |
| o £35 million from refinancings |
Capital Allocation
| ● | Share buybacks: 2025 £50 million buyback programme completed on 8th January 2026, enhancing NAV per share by 11 pence over the course of the programme. £20 million minimum 2026 programme commenced |
| ● | Commitments: €500 million commitment to Oakley Capital Fund VI, taking total outstanding commitments to £992 million of which c.£300 million is not expected to be called. This is set to be invested over the next five years |
| ● | Cash and credit facilities: Liquidity of £191 million comprising £95 million of cash and £96 million in undrawn credit facilities |
See OCI’s Balance Sheet in the Annual Report here.
Board Initiatives
| ● | Evolution of OCI’s capital allocation policy, including revision of buyback programme |
| ● | Transfer of OCI’s listing to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, with resulting FTSE 250 index inclusion |
| ● | New Board appointments, including Christopher Samuel as Chair, effective from 13 March 2026 and Kiernan Bell as Independent Non-Executive Director |
Read more about OCI’s governance here.
Portfolio overview and the AI upside
The portfolio delivered another year of double-digit organic growth whilst the wider macro environment struggled to find a stable footing. Looking ahead, the private equity portfolio of 38 companies is evenly balanced across Oakley’s core sectors and focus European geographies. The hold period has remained consistent, with the average currently just under 3.5 years. This is a diverse range of founder-led, high-growth, disruptive businesses with a high level of recurring revenue. All this is relevant given the recent and increasing focus on AI. Whilst the full impact of this technology is unknown, OCI has been and is expected to continue to be a net beneficiary of AI adoption:
| ● | Investing through the lens of AI – over the past three years, Oakley has focused on the investment opportunity presented by AI, leading to the launch of the Oakley Touring Fund in 2024. The Fund has enabled investments in AI native B2B solutions while also forming the genesis of the Oakley AI lab, a centre of excellence providing valuable domain expertise across the Oakley Group and its existing portfolio companies, and supporting the adoption of AI to drive long-term value creation. |
| ● | Portfolio positioning – today, around two thirds of the portfolio’s value is underpinned by businesses that rely on physical delivery or tangible products, including technology infrastructure, field-based business services, luxury brands, sports and education. Whilst AI is unlikely to disintermediate these products and services it has the potential to enhance revenue growth, improve margins and drive productivity gains across these companies. The remainder of the portfolio delivers products and services digitally, where AI presents meaningful opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness, rather than posing a structural threat of displacement. Within the portfolio, 16% of NAV is invested specifically in software companies. The majority provide vertical, mission-critical software solutions and systems of record, characterised by proprietary data, high switching costs and regulatory lock-in. |
Steve Pearce, Interim Chair of Oakley Capital Investments, commented:
“Despite a challenging economic environment in 2025, the portfolio continued to generate solid earnings growth and deliver successful exits. The Board’s focus on shareholder value drove the move to the Main Market as well as a revised capital allocation policy, with increased and recurring share buybacks. In the year ahead, we once again face considerable uncertainty driven by macro, geopolitical and technological developments. We’re confident, however, that Oakley is positioned to take advantage of the AI revolution and has the right portfolio diversification, the right skillset and the right strategy to continue delivering attractive, resilient returns for our shareholders. We are also pleased to welcome Christopher Samuel as the new Chair of OCI, whose leadership will support the Company’s next phase of development.”
Read the 2025 Chair’s letter here.
Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, said:
“Historically, some of the strongest-performing private equity vintages have been deployed during periods of heightened uncertainty. We believe the current market environment presents a compelling opportunity to partner with more exceptional entrepreneurs at attractive entry points. At the same time, we are working closely with our founders to harness emerging AI technologies, enabling them to move further and faster, and to build future-ready businesses.”
The Annual Report and Accounts are available on the Company’s website here.
A video overview of the 12-month performance is available here.
The Company’s Q1 2026 trading update is expected to be released on 29 April 2026.
Results presentation
A live presentation of the results, delivered by Oakley Capital Partner Steven Tredget and Managing Partner Arthur Mornington, will take place at 9:00am today, Thursday 12 March 2026. The presentation will be available to view via video webcast at the following link: https://www.investis-live.com/oakley-capital/698371515ade84001c1ed0fd/cpald
