Princess Private Equity (LON:PEY) reported a 3.3% decline in net asset value on a total return basis for the first quarter of 2026, with management attributing the fall largely to listed holdings and company-specific challenges in parts of the portfolio.
Andreea Mateescu, investor relations responsible for PGPE Ltd, said listed assets represented about 6.5% of the portfolio at quarter-end, down from roughly 11% at the end of 2025 and the lowest level in the past couple of years. She said value creation was also moderated by “idiosyncratic challenges” at selected portfolio companies, while younger vintages continued to perform well.
Buybacks and dividend remain in focus
Mateescu said the board allocated EUR 18 million to the company’s share buyback program, in addition to EUR 2 million remaining from an earlier pool announced in October 2025. The combined EUR 20 million buyback program was announced in April and is set to expire on July 31, 2026.
The company also plans to pay a first interim dividend of EUR 0.325 per share in June, in line with its policy of distributing 5% of closing NAV in semiannual payments. Mateescu said that, at the current discount to NAV, the policy implied a prospective dividend yield of more than 7%.
She also noted that the company’s annual general meeting is scheduled for June 18, following publication of the AGM notice on April 30.
Portfolio activity driven by mature asset realizations
Federica Cazzaniga, senior portfolio manager at Partners Group, said the portfolio composition and top 10 holdings were largely unchanged during the quarter, with the top 10 still representing about 40% of NAV. However, she said there had been some reshuffling due to ongoing realizations.
One key transaction was a sell-down of a 14% stake in Vishal Mega Mart, the Indian retailer, which generated EUR 15 million in proceeds for PGPE Ltd during the quarter. Cazzaniga said Vishal was no longer the portfolio’s largest holding but remained in the top three. She added that despite stock market volatility in March, Vishal had remained among the top performers and distribution contributors over the past 12 months.
Cazzaniga said Vishal reported high-teens year-over-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth for its fiscal third quarter. She also said the company’s quick commerce initiative had expanded to more than 485 cities in India and had 12 million registered users as of December 2025.
Clario, a provider of digital clinical trial technologies, will leave the top 10 holdings in the next reporting period after its sale, announced in the fourth quarter of 2025, closed in April 2026.
Cazzaniga said PGPE Ltd received just under EUR 80 million in proceeds from partial or full realizations during the first quarter, mainly from more mature pre-2020 investments. Including the Clario sale, distributions exceeded EUR 100 million year-to-date. She said realized outcomes continued to occur at or above recent carrying values, which she said validated the company’s valuations.
Among the realizations, Cazzaniga highlighted the full exit from Galderma, the dermatology and skincare company. Partners Group invested in Galderma in 2019 and supported the scaling of its aesthetics franchise, geographic and product expansion, and broader operational improvements. The position was gradually reduced following Galderma’s IPO in early 2024, culminating in a final block trade during the quarter that generated a return of more than 3.5 times money multiple.
Operating performance remains under pressure
Cazzaniga said the portfolio’s weighted average holding period continued to decline, falling to 4.4 years from 4.6 years at the end of 2025 and more than five years a year earlier. She said that was more than two years below the average holding period observed in the broader buyout space.
On portfolio performance, Cazzaniga said last-12-month EBITDA growth declined slightly to just over 6% at the end of March, reflecting a moderate slowdown across the portfolio. She cited fresh macroeconomic headwinds, including the war in the Middle East and its impact on the business environment.
She said the bottom three performers were KinderCare, Pharmathen and AMMEGA, whose company-specific challenges continued to offset modest value creation elsewhere in the portfolio. Negative returns from listed holdings and continued U.S. dollar depreciation also detracted from returns, contributing to the 3.3% net return decline for the quarter.
Cazzaniga said listed positions, including Vishal and KinderCare, recovered their March losses during April. However, she said this was expected to be offset by negative operational developments at select holdings, including Pharmathen and USIC.
Management points to younger assets and operational work
Cazzaniga said the 2021 to 2023 vintage cohort had been significantly affected by pandemic-related industry shifts and post-pandemic pressures such as inflation, labor shortages and reduced pricing flexibility. She said a small number of assets, including Schleich, Charismatic and Ecom Express, were affected by rapid disruption from online and e-commerce trends, though those assets represented less than 4% of capital invested in those vintages.
A larger group of companies experienced delayed value creation, she said, but remained marked on average at 1.4 times multiples, with 20% performing above underwriting cases. Cazzaniga said Partners Group expects to realize an average multiple close to 2 times for these assets, below its ambition but broadly aligned with prior comparable cycles.
She also highlighted operational recovery efforts at several companies, including Blue River, BrandStar and Confluent Health, citing EBITDA compound annual growth rates of 15% to 25% from trough levels in selected cases.
For younger assets, Cazzaniga pointed to ROSEN Group, a provider of inspection services for energy infrastructure assets acquired in early 2024. She said Partners Group had completed a C-suite upgrade, achieved pricing gains and focused on digital transformation. Despite U.S. dollar weakness and tariffs over the past 12 months, she said ROSEN recorded above-budget revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth, with pro forma EBITDA more than doubling over the period to Feb. 28, 2026.
During the question-and-answer session, Cazzaniga said she expected distributions in 2026 to remain broadly in line with 2025 levels, likely in the range of 17% to 20% of NAV. She also said all majority-owned private equity buyout transactions where Partners Group is majority owner are included in the PGPE Ltd portfolio, saying there is “full overlap” and “no cherry-picking.”
Asked about structural solutions, Mateescu said the board would provide an update on June 18 and declined to provide additional information during the call.
About Princess Private Equity (LON:PEY)
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited specializes in private equity and debt investments in non-public companies or assets through privately negotiated transactions. The fund invests in primary and secondary fund investments, direct investments, and listed private equity. It makes private equity investments in buyout, venture capital, and special situation and private debt investments in mezzanine, second lien, or senior debt investments. The fund makes investments without limitations as to geographic regions, financing stage, vintage year, and industry.
