PGPE Ltd 2025: NAV slips, share price rises, Board weighs options
Partners Group Private Equity Limited (LSE: PEY/PEYS) has released its 2025 annual results and, frankly, it is a mixed bag. NAV per share ended the year at EUR 13.00, delivering a NAV total return of -8.7% once you include the EUR 0.75 dividend. Yet the share price total return was positive at 5.3%, and the year-end discount to NAV stood at 19.6%.
The Board has heard the message on performance and the persistent discount. It is now discussing options with the Investment Manager and advisers to improve liquidity at a narrower discount while still offering a solid long-term proposition. An update is due at the AGM expected on 18 June 2026.
Key numbers investors should know
| NAV per share (31 Dec 2025) | EUR 13.00 |
| NAV total return (2025) | -8.7% |
| Share price total return (2025) | 5.3% |
| Discount to NAV (31 Dec 2025) | 19.6% |
| Dividend per share (2025) | EUR 0.75 |
| Dividend yield at year end | 7.2% (based on EUR 10.45 share price) |
| Share buybacks (2025) | EUR 5.8 million, 562,025 shares |
| Buyback programme | Up to EUR 15.0 million, extended to 30 April 2026 |
| Distributions received from portfolio (2025) | EUR 227.3 million |
| Investments made (2025) | EUR 102.4 million |
| Portfolio weighted average hold | 4.6 years |
| Cash balance (31 Dec 2025) | EUR 8.1 million |
| Revolving credit facility | EUR 150.0 million, undrawn, to 2029 |
| 5-year cumulative NAV total return (2021-2025) | 21.7% (4.0% annualised) |
Why did NAV fall 8.7% in 2025?
Two forces did the heavy lifting on the downside. First, currency: a weaker US Dollar versus the Euro caused a -5.7% hit to the portfolio. Currency swings can move reported NAV when assets are valued in one currency but the company reports in another.
Second, value creation was modest at +0.7%, with a handful of portfolio companies facing idiosyncratic issues. Pre-2021 exposures helped deliver strong realisations and liquidity. By contrast, several 2021-2023 vintage assets proved more sensitive to macro and company-specific headwinds, reflecting higher entry valuations and leverage set in a lower-rate era. The good news: most of that 2021-2023 cohort remains above cost with positive EBITDA growth. In short, the newer vintage is wobblier but not broken.
Five-year scorecard: adequate, not dazzling
Across 2021-2025, cumulative NAV total return was 21.7%, or 4.0% annualised. That is decent for a choppy period but clearly below what many investors expect from private equity. In my view, 2026 needs to show cleaner value creation and less FX drag to rebuild confidence.
Capital returns: chunky dividend and the first buybacks since 2014
PGPE Ltd paid out 5% of 2024 year-end NAV as a 2025 dividend, equal to EUR 0.75 per share, which translated into a 7.2% yield on the year-end share price. That is eye-catching income for a private equity vehicle.
Buybacks restarted too. The company repurchased 562,025 shares for EUR 5.8 million under a EUR 15.0 million programme and has extended the programme to 30 April 2026. With the shares at a 19.6% discount to NAV, buybacks can be accretive to NAV per share and support the price. The Board also spotlighted the ongoing discount as a priority, which is exactly what many investors want to hear.
Portfolio activity: strong realisations and a step-up in new investments
Cash generation from exits was a highlight. PGPE Ltd received EUR 227.3 million in distributions in 2025, the highest level since 2021, and the average holding period shortened, taking the weighted average hold to 4.6 years. That supports the case that pre-2021 assets have been doing the heavy lifting on liquidity.
On the flip side, they put EUR 102.4 million to work across a diversified set of companies, a sharp increase from 2024 and closer to the long-term aim of investing around 10% of net assets annually. If they keep investing through the cycle, the portfolio’s vintage mix should normalise over time.
Balance sheet: low cash, high flexibility
Year-end cash was EUR 8.1 million, which is light in absolute terms. However, the undrawn EUR 150.0 million revolving credit facility maturing in 2029 provides meaningful headroom. The Chair also noted that the facility was renewed on more advantageous terms.
Admission to the FTSE 250 in September 2025 has boosted trading volumes, which should help liquidity and, potentially, the effectiveness of buybacks and any future capital allocation actions.
Discount to NAV and Board review: what matters into the AGM
At a 19.6% year-end discount, the market is still applying a wide margin of safety. The Board is actively discussing options to narrow that gap while balancing liquidity for sellers and an attractive runway for long-term holders. Specific options were not disclosed, but the company will update shareholders at the AGM expected on 18 June 2026.
My take: there are credible positives here – strong realisations, resumed buybacks, and robust dividend income – but sentiment will likely hinge on two things in 2026: clearer value creation in the 2021-2023 cohort and tangible action to address the discount.
Webcast and where to dig deeper
Management will host an investor update today, 23 March 2026, at 10:00 GMT / 11:00 CET. Registration details were referenced but not disclosed in the RNS. The presentation and full annual report are available here:
Partners Group Private Equity Limited – Reports and presentations
What I am watching next
- AGM update on options to reduce the discount to NAV and improve liquidity.
- Performance of 2021-2023 vintage assets, given higher entry valuations and leverage set in a lower-rate environment.
- Pace of realisations and new investments, and whether distribution levels remain strong.
- Capital allocation – further buyback utilisation under the remaining EUR 15.0 million authorisation.
- FX impact on reported NAV, after a -5.7% currency hit in 2025.
Overall, 2025 was operationally busy, financially mixed. If PGPE Ltd can turn solid portfolio cashflows into consistent value creation and progress on the discount, the investment case strengthens from here.
