Petershill Partners PLC

Petershill reported first-half adjusted EPS of $0.114 per share, up 35% year over year. On a reported basis, net management fees were $177 million, down 8%, fee-related earnings were $99 million, down 12%, and partner realized performance revenues were $46 million; PRE was about 20% of total partner revenues. On a pro forma basis adjusted for disposals, net management fees and FRE both increased 14% year over year. Total AUM was $351 billion, up 6%, fee-paying AUM grew 3% year over year, and book value per share was $4.70, broadly unchanged from $4.71 at year-end. For 2025, management said financial guidance is unchanged, PRE remains guided to 15% to 30% of total partner revenues, and the board intends to recommend a $0.052 interim dividend plus a $4.15 capital return to free-float shareholders, for total payment of $4.202 per share.

Ali Raissi emphasized that the business continued to deliver good operational performance even amid a challenging market backdrop, with steady AUM growth, stronger realizations, and active GP-stake investing. He highlighted $19 billion of gross fee-eligible assets raised in the first half and said the company continued to buy and sell stakes at what it views as attractive valuations. His tone was constructive but pragmatic, repeatedly framing the capital-return proposal as an effort to give shareholders certainty and realize value that the market has not reflected.

Gurjit Kambo focused on the mechanics of the half-year results: fee-paying AUM grew 3% year over year despite a $9 billion negative M&A impact and $6 billion of realizations, total AUM reached $351 billion, and ownership-weighted fee-paying AUM ended at $28 billion versus $29 billion at year-end. He said investments in partner firms at fair value were $5.5 billion, down from $5.8 billion at year-end, with $275 million of additions, $184 million of fair-value movement, and a $730 million reduction from the General Catalyst disposal; the balance also excluded $509 million of loan notes. He noted no material change in the weighted average discount rate, and book value per share was $4.70.

The main analyst question focused on what underlying private fund investors think about the delisting and whether they supported it, given that the public listing had been a liquidity avenue. Ali Raissi said many investors recognized the value in the underlying assets and had not found the public share price compelling over the past four years, while noting they could still benefit from yield and future realizations. A second question asked whether management explored other routes, such as selling the portfolio or using another aggregator; Naguib Kheraj said the portfolio is too large for many buyers, and secondary transactions would likely occur at a significant discount to NAV, so the board did not think those options would achieve a comparable result.