NB Private Equity Partners H1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• NAV increased modestly: NB Private Equity Partners delivered a 1.9% dollar NAV total return in the first half, while August NAV rose 1.7%. Portfolio companies continued to show strong operating performance, with weighted-average revenue and EBITDA growth of 11.1% and 12.1%, respectively.
• Realizations accelerated: The company announced $150 million of first-half realizations, with an additional $68 million of proceeds expected, and completed transactions at 3.1 times invested capital and an approximately 6% uplift to prior carrying values.
• Investment and shareholder returns expanded: NBPE invested or committed $164 million across nine companies, including more than $50 million in AI-focused growth investments, while returning $144 million to shareholders year to date through dividends and buybacks.

NB Private Equity Partners LON: NBPE reported a 1.9% net asset value total return in U.S. dollar terms for the first half, or 3.4% in sterling, as private investment valuation gains offset a limited number of markdowns across the portfolio.

The company also said its August monthly NAV rose 1.7%, primarily driven by gains in quoted holdings. For the eight months ended Aug. 31, NAV total return was 4.2%.

Portfolio companies continued to post double-digit operating growth. On a weighted-average basis, the portfolio generated last-12-month revenue growth of 11.1% and EBITDA growth of 12.1%, compared with 9.1% and 9.7%, respectively, at year-end.

Broadening Private Portfolio Gains

Private investments, which represented about 93% of the portfolio’s value, appreciated 2.7% on a constant-currency basis during the first half and 3% during the second quarter. The company said valuation gains had broadened beyond a narrower group of holdings, with older investments contributing more meaningfully to NAV growth.

The top 10 holdings, accounting for approximately 41% of fair value, appreciated by $43 million, or 8.3%. The next 20 largest investments increased by an aggregate $14 million, or about 3%. The 30 largest positions accounted for roughly 80% of total portfolio fair value.

Those gains were partly offset by approximately $25 million of markdowns concentrated in about five businesses. NB Private Equity Partners said the declines reflected differing factors, including slower growth, delayed cost savings, softer comparables, valuation-multiple contraction and one restructuring.

Portfolio valuation and leverage metrics were broadly stable versus year-end. The portfolio’s weighted-average enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple was 15.3 times, while net debt-to-EBITDA stood at 5.1 times.

The company highlighted stronger growth among its largest investments, which delivered last-12-month revenue growth of 15.7% and EBITDA growth of 15.5%. Holdings cited as contributors included Action, Solenis, FDH Aero, OneMonroe and True Potential.

Realizations and Visible Proceeds

NB Private Equity Partners announced $150 million of realizations in the first half, representing 12% of opening portfolio NAV. Of that amount, $92 million had been received, while $58 million remained outstanding from signed transactions.

The company has visibility on an additional $68 million of proceeds expected over the coming months, which would bring proceeds received or pending to about $280 million. That compares with $180 million received during the prior year.

Realization activity included the signed sale of FDH Aero, the exit of Solenis through a continuation vehicle, and transactions involving Hydro and Basis Technologies. The company also completed partial sales or realizations in Osaic, Bending Spoons and Husky.

These transactions were completed at an aggregate 3.1 times invested capital and represented an approximate 6% uplift to carrying values from three quarters earlier, according to the company.

Portfolio Refresh and New Commitments

NB Private Equity Partners said it is increasing new investment activity after prioritizing balance-sheet strength in recent years. The company said it had reduced new deployment between 2022 and 2025 and de-geared the portfolio from more than 20% in 2019 to zero toward the end of last year.

During the first half, the company invested $104 million across six new portfolio companies. It subsequently committed a further $60 million, including a follow-on investment and three additional investments expected to close in the fourth quarter. Total commitments for 2026 were expected to reach approximately $164 million across nine portfolio companies.

New investments discussed during the call included Conservice, a utility management and billing platform for U.S. property managers backed alongside TPG; Ryan LLC, a business-to-business tax services provider invested alongside Ares and Onex; and Vinted, in which the company made an initial investment alongside EQT and later increased its holding to approximately $4 million.

The company also committed more than $50 million across three unnamed AI-focused growth equity investments. It said positions in the investments range from 0.8% to 2% of fair value, limiting early-stage concentration while providing exposure to AI-related growth trends.

Investments made in 2024 and 2025 had an aggregate gross multiple of invested capital of 1.6 times and an average gross internal rate of return of about 28%, according to the company. Their underlying businesses recorded revenue growth of 14.5% and EBITDA growth of 15.7% over the prior 12 months.

Once pending investments close, vintages from 2024 through 2026 are expected to represent slightly more than one-third of the portfolio.

Capital Returns and Board Change

As of Aug. 31, NB Private Equity Partners had about $140 million of available liquidity and an investment level of roughly 115%. The board expects the investment level to remain between 110% and 120% in the short to medium term, before moving toward approximately 110% over the longer term.

The company returned $144 million to shareholders year to date, equal to about 12% of opening NAV and roughly double the $62 million returned during the comparable period a year earlier. Returns included an $20 million dividend and share repurchases.

The board allocated a further $120 million to share buybacks in June, bringing the total authorization since the start of 2025 to $240 million. NB Private Equity Partners said it had repurchased about $160 million of shares cumulatively under the program. Through the end of August, it had bought back approximately $70 million of shares at an average discount of 28%.

The company also announced the appointment of David MacLellan as an independent director and chair designate. Current Chair William Maltby is due to retire after the board’s December meeting following nearly eight years on the board.

About NB Private Equity Partners (LON:NBPE)

Neuberger Private Equity Partners (NBPE) is a London listed FTSE-250 investment company which invests directly in private companies alongside some of the world's leading private equity managers. Managed by Neuberger, a leading private markets investor, Neuberger Private Equity Partners leverages the strength of Neuberger platform, relationships, deal flow and expertise to access the most attractive investment opportunities, providing shareholders with access to a portfolio of direct investments diversified by manager, sector, geography and size.

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