SVG Capital has published interim results covering the six months ended 31 July 2015. Over that period the fund’s net asset value rose by 3% to 606p on the back of a 4% return on the investment portfolio. £101m was returned to shareholders during the period
They say the portfolio is now broadly split between pre-2012 investments, the majority of which are in the process of being exited; post-2012 investments which are performing strongly; and the SVG Diamond funds, which continue to perform well. They have made one new co-investment, Eyemart Express, in the six months and have recently agreed to commit $100 million to a US mid-market private equity fund, which they expect to close before the end of the year. Uncalled commitments total £321m, against which SVG has net cash balances of £259m and an uncalled bank line of £211m.
The CEO’s statement says Permira has taken advantage of the buoyant exit environment to sell more mature assets such as iglo Group, New Look and Hugo Boss resulting in a record period for distributions. Additionally, the post-2012 portfolio of investments has reported strong weighted average revenue and earnings growth (11% and 8% respectively), which in turn has resulted in a number of write-ups. They believe the recent highly successful sale of AMCo by Cinven at a significant multiple of cost is a good example of the potential in this portfolio.
The SVG Diamond funds continue to perform strongly reporting another period of double-digit growth, taking the annualised return from this portfolio since June 2010 to 17% p.a. The investments in the SVG Diamond funds are maturing and they anticipate receiving small equity distributions from this programme in the next 12 months, with the rate of distributions expected to increase from 2016 onwards.
SVI : SVG NAV advances after busy period for realisations