HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE )

Performance

The £3.3bn fund of private equity funds reported a small net asset value (NAV) increase of 0.3% in US dollar terms in July, translating to a 4.1% uplift in sterling terms, reflecting the strength of the dollar over the month.

The initial public offering (IPO) of design software company Figma on the New York Stock Exchange at the end of the month added 0.9% to NAV.

Education company McGraw Hill also IPO’d in New York at $17 a share, while scientific software group Dotmatics agreed to be taken over by Siemens for $5.1bn (£3.7bn) and respiratory disease treatment company Vicebio is set to be taken over by Sanofi for $1.6bn.

Cashflow was positive for a second month at $7m, although gross distributions of $20m were less than half of June’s $53m. Cash came in from the Thoma Bravo Special Opportunities fund, linked to investments in Qilk Technologies, SolarWinds, and Kofax.

Buybacks

HVPE began a share buyback programme in September 2022 and later launched a ‘distribution pool’ to be returned to shareholders. At the end of April, the fund had repurchased $188m of shares.

The pace of buybacks has slowed in recent months despite growing realisations. The distribution pool currently totals $36.9m after the fund added $6m in July.

The fund trades at a 33% discount.

What the analysts say

Deutsche Numis analyst Gavin Trodd expects to see further buybacks in coming months.

‘The shares currently trade on a 34% discount to our estimated NAV, which we believe offers value,’ he said.

‘Our estimated NAV adjusts for FX, buyback accretion and the share price move of Figma. HVPE will hold a continuation vote in July 2026, and we believe the discount will likely narrow further as this approaches.’

RIT Capital (RCP )

Performance

The £2.8bn multi-asset portfolio backed by the Rothschild family and managed by J Rothschild Capital Management, reported a 2.7% increase in NAV in July, taking total NAV returns for the year to 6.2%.

Manager Maggie Fanari said quoted equities had ‘added meaningfully’ to returns with technology, healthcare and quality holdings driving gains, alongside the trust’s exposure to China.

The private equity portfolio performed well, continuing its strong first-half run, as the fund received second quarter valuations for some of its largest investments exposed to artificial intelligence (AI), software and fintech.

The fund’s ‘uncorrelated strategies’ were flat over the month, with currency acting as a ‘meaningful contributor’ thanks to the appreciation of the dollar against sterling, with the DXY dollar index moving higher for the first time this year.

Broader themes

While the US added to the portfolio, macro data points were mixed over the month, which Fanari said ‘reignited the debate on whether the US economy will slow into a recession’.

Steady gains were made on global equity markets, with the US contributing positively as a result of improving earnings in the second quarter and ‘continued uplift from technology stocks exposed to AI’, said Fanari.

The European economy continued to show signs of improvement, although European equities lagged the rest of the world due to concerns around the EU-US trade deal. Asian markets were undeterred by the trade tariff negotiations, with Chinese equities moving ahead on improving macroeconomic data and tensions easing with the US.

Corporate action

RIT Capital continued its buyback programme, repurchasing £5.9m of shares in July. The trust currently trades at a 27% discount.

TwentyFour Income (TFIF )

Circular published

The £864m portfolio of UK and European asset-backed securities published a circular ahead of its three-yearly realisation opportunity, which will be offered at a 2% discount to the recorded NAV on 21 October 2025.

However, the shares currently trade at a slight premium of 1.8% so investors wanting to cash in will be better off selling their shares on the market rather than tendering them.  

The board has offered a three-yearly redemption opportunity since the fund launched in 2013. It allows shareholders to realise all or part of their holding at a 2% discount regardless of the size of the discount at the time.

Performance

Since launch in 2013, the fund has delivered NAV total returns of 164%, or 8.1% a year, and has exceeded is dividend target in every year since launch. The full-year 2025 dividend was a record 11.07p versus an 8p target, and equates to a 10% yield.

Outlook

Although falling rates are detrimental to the fund’s floating rate loans, manager Aza Teeuwen expects the strong performance to continue in the medium-term. He sees the best value in Western European secured assets, such as residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), auto asset-backed securities (ABS), and collateralised loan obligations (CLOs)

‘While volatility could stay elevated, because of heightened geopolitical tensions, the consistent high income provided by ABSs and CLOs should remain a key driver of outperformance for the company’s target asset class compared to traditional fixed rate bonds,’ he said.

‘The current environment continues to warrant liquidity and flexibility, and should an escalating global trade war result in extended market volatility, the company believes this could offer an attractive opportunity to use this liquidity to enhance the company’s income.’

Georgia Capital (CGEO)

Buybacks

The £1.3bn investor in Georgian companies, which has close to half of the portfolio in Lion Finance (BGEO), formerly Bank of Georgia, has launched a $50m share buyback and cancellation scheme.

The programme will remain in effect for nine months, with the shares purchased on the open market and cancellation of the shares happening on a monthly basis. The purpose of the buyback is to reduce the share capital.

Under the buyback programme, the maximum price paid per share will not exceed the latest reported NAV per share amount.

The buybacks are part of a 700m Georgian lari (£193m) capital return programme announced in August, which will run until the end of 2027. It consists of share buybacks, dividends and the potential early repayment of $150m of ‘local holding company bonds’.

The latest buyback programme follows on from the previous $68m programme that was recently concluded.

What the analysts say

Deutsche Numis, which is the broker for the share buyback programme, said the renewed buyback ‘underscores the strong cash position of the business and confidence of continued strong free cashflow generation, as well as cash proceeds from recent exits including the beverages business and the remaining stake in the water utilities business’, said analyst Gavin Trodd.

The shares currently trade at a discount of 35% to NAV, which is tighter than historic levels. He believes this still ‘offers value’ given the scope for ‘continued strong operational performance of the large private assets and continued strength in the share price of Lion Finance, fuelled by a positive macroeconomic backdrop in Georgia’.

The fund’s shares are up 237.7% over three years and 524.7% over five years.