The private equity sector company, ICG Enterprise (ICGT), reported annual results to 31 January 2020, delivering a NAV total return of 22.5% over the year. This was well ahead of the FTSE all-share, which returned -7.5% over the period.
In the following sections, we provide a review of the year from ICGT’s manager.
High conviction Investments review from the manager
“Our strategy is focused on investing in mid-cap and larger companies that have leading market positions, strong management teams and attractive defensive growth characteristics. We believe they will generate the most consistently strong returns through the cycle. Our Portfolio combines investments managed by ICG and those managed by third parties, in both cases directly and through funds.
High Conviction Investments represented 51% of the Portfolio value (31 Jan 2020: 41%) and we anticipate these investments will represent 50% – 60% of the Portfolio in the medium term.
Our High Conviction Investments, which include 23 of our Top 30 companies, allow us to proactively increase exposure to companies that benefit from long-term structural trends and therefore have the ability to grow even in less benign economic environments. We are able to enhance returns and increase visibility on underlying performance drivers, and we mitigate the more concentrated risk through a highly selective approach and a focus on defensive growth companies. Over the last five years, this element of the Portfolio has generated a local currency return of 25% p.a.
Third Party Funds represent 49% of total Portfolio value and were valued at £468m (31 Jan 2020: £477m). This element of the Portfolio provides a base of strong diversified returns as well as deal flow for direct and secondary investments. The underlying funds are focused on mid-market and large-cap European and US private equity managers. Over the last five years this element of the Portfolio has generated a local currency return of 15% p.a.”
Strong year of performance from the top 30 companies
“Our largest 30 underlying companies (“Top 30 companies”) represent 52% of the Portfolio by value. They performed well, underpinned by strong operational performance, and reported LTM revenue growth of 15%.
Of the Top 30 companies, EBITDA is a relevant metric for 263, which in aggregate represent 35% of the Portfolio by value. These companies reported LTM revenue and EBITDA growth of 12% and 14% respectively. Their Enterprise Value / EBITDA multiples were 14.0x and the Net Debt/EBITDA ratio was 4.3x. Our Top 30 companies are heavily weighted towards developed private equity markets. 48% of the Top 30 by Portfolio value is invested in the US, 25% in Europe and 21% in the UK. The Top 30 is diversified by sector, with a bias towards companies with strong defensive growth characteristics.
Within our Top 30 companies, three companies listed during the financial year (Telos, Allegro, and Dr. Martens). All three enjoyed strong performance during the financial year. In addition, we have exposure to Chewy (which is also quoted) through our investment in PetSmart, whose share price also performed very strongly during the financial year. The carrying value of these companies increased significantly during the financial year and combined they contributed £125m to the growth of the Portfolio, gross of underlying managers’ fees and Carried Interest.”
‘Realisations at significant uplifts to carrying value and cost’
“Despite the slowdown in realisation activity during the first half of the financial year, Total Proceeds for the full year amounted to £209m. This was comprised of £137m generated from the realisation of individual companies (either held directly or through funds) and £72m of proceeds from Fund Disposals.
32 Full Exits completed in the year and realised £86m of proceeds. These realisations were completed at an average of 31% Uplift to Carrying Value and an average Multiple to Cost of 2.4x. This is consistent with our recent historical performance: over the last five years Full Exits have averaged 35% Uplift to Carrying Value and a Multiple to Cost of 2.4x. A further £51m of proceeds were received from partial exits.
Four of our Top 30 companies at the beginning of the financial year were fully realised during the financial year. The largest exit was Roompot, which was sold by PAI Partners to funds advised by KKR. Roompot operates and develops holiday parks in Northern Europe. It was sold at a significant Uplift to Carrying Value of the Company’s holding in the business. The success of the realisation, agreed at a time of extreme economic uncertainty, highlights the benefit of investing in companies with strong defensive growth characteristics and market leading positions. Our second largest underlying company at the start of the year, City & County Healthcare Group, was fully realised by Graphite Capital. Other notable realisations included the exit of the French vinyl floor manufacturer Gerflor (12th largest underlying company at the start of the year), and sales by the underlying managers of the listed investments in Ceridian and TeamViewer.
We also demonstrated our active approach to managing the Portfolio by executing a number of Fund Disposals, generating £72m of proceeds and releasing £42m of Undrawn Commitments. A number of these were undertaken strategically at discounts to their carrying value in order to rebalance the Portfolio, release Commitments and expand investment capacity for Deployment into more attractive opportunities in line with our ongoing strategy. We worked alongside the previous Manager of the Company (Graphite Capital) to facilitate the most significant fund disposal in the period, being the partial disposal of our sizeable holding in Graphite VIII, a fund focused on small to mid-sized UK buyouts.”
ICGT: ICG Enterprise delivers 22.5% total NAV return