Tom Burnet, the new chair of CT Private Equity (CTPE), has predicted the £346m investment trust will see more profitable exits like the 71% uplift it made taking £17.9m on its stake in Cyberhawk when the US drone-based inspection group was snapped up for $125m in June.
Burnet, who succeeded Richard Gray at the helm of the trust’s board in May, said CTPE was “increasingly well placed for a more active exit environment” with more than half of the portfolio “invested in assets that have been held for over three years, creating a meaningful pipeline of potential future realisations.”
Half-year results provided further evidence of that trend. Realisations rose 135% over the first half of last year to £63.6m, exceeding new investments by £23m to leave money for the 5.7% yielder’s quarterly dividend and buybacks of its cheap shares. The disposals achieved an average 32% uplift to carrying value, although after the half-year period in July the company sold £25m of fund investments for 16% less than net asset value.
Burnet, who also chairs Saba target Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA), said the market took a less positive view of the trust’s prospects with the discount widening on its share price from just over 9% to nearly 29% in the first six months of the year. As a result, the shares fell 9.3% with the 7.1p per share quarterly dividend included in the total return.
That belied a more resilient performance from the portfolio of private equity funds and stakes in unquoted companies, which Andrew Carnwath took over in May following the retirement of Hamish Mair, who had run it for 26 years.
Net assets excluding debt were stable at £497m although after finance costs, operating expenses and currency movements, net asset value (NAV) per share dipped 0.2% to 695p at 30 June.
Nevertheless, portfolio companies continued to perform strongly with annual revenues growing 16% and earnings, or underlying profits, by 23%.
Carnwath’s new deployments included £12.9m of co-investments where he added two new companies to the portfolio. Voltheia, a consolidator of low voltage electric cable and accessories manufacturers in Europe received £4m as CTPE invested with Buckthorn Partners in London. Gyms4you, Croatia’s leading gym operator, got £5.1m as the trust partnered for a seventh deal with Rohatyn Group, an emerging markets specialist in New York.
With net debt rising to £101.5m from £96.5m CTPE ended the half year 17% geared with £45m left on borrowing facilities which were due to end next February but have been extended by three years.
Our view
David Batchelor, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “These are encouraging results despite the essentially flat NAV return. More important is the evidence that activity in the private equity market is picking up again. Realisations were substantially higher than a year ago and exits were achieved at an average 32% uplift to carrying value. Distributions have already exceeded the total received in the whole of 2025. Cyberhawk, which returned 7.2x cost, is a strong example of the value that can emerge when good assets are finally sold.
“There are still reasons for some caution, not least that the sale of older European fund interests at a 16.1% discount to their previous carrying value shows that not every valuation will prove conservative. However, disposing of slower-growth assets to strengthen the balance sheet and recycle capital into more attractive opportunities looks sensible, particularly when CTPE itself trades at a discount of around 30%. The resumption of buybacks at these levels is therefore welcome.
“Indeed, with portfolio companies delivering healthy earnings growth, valuations at a modest 9.8x EBITDA, improving cash inflows and the dividend providing a useful yield while investors wait, the current discount looks increasingly difficult to justify if the recovery in realisations continues.”
