Petershill Partners posts higher earnings, shares gain
Petershill Partners (LON: PHLL) has announced an 11% increase in Distributable Partnership Income to $323 million by 2024, along with strong asset growth and acquisitions, sending its shares up more than 2% on the day of the announcement.
The UK investment firm completed four acquisitions totalling $205 million and three disposals, generating a notional value of $575 million.
During the year, Petershill returned $563 million to shareholders, including an interim dividend of $54 million, a proposed final dividend of $114 million, special dividends totalling $287 million, a tender offer of $103 million and a buyback of $6 million.
After the end of the financial year, the company completed another acquisition and disposal and announced a special dividend of $151 million.
Adjusted profit after tax was $216 million, up from $200 million in 2023. Adjusted EBIT increased to $293 million, maintaining a high profit margin of 88%, while IFRS profit after tax increased to $832 million from $321 million in the previous year. IFRS earnings per share increased to 75.8 cents from 28.4 cents in 2023.
The acquisitions included a stake in Kennedy Lewis Investment Management and additional interests in three existing partnerships.
The sale of the partnership interests generated $575 million in nominal value, 19% higher than the book value at the time of the transaction.
The Board of Directors recommended a final dividend of 10.5 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 15.5 cents per share, up from 15.0 cents in 2023.
A special dividend of 14.0 cents per share, or $151 million, was also declared, primarily repaying the proceeds from the sale of the General Catalyst stake, which was completed in early 2025.
The sale of a majority of the General Catalyst stake was completed for a total nominal value of $726 million, 62% higher than the last reported book value before the disposal.
In 2024, Partner Fee-Related Income increased by 11% to $225 million, with net management fees increasing by 10% year-on-year. Partner performance revenue increased 33% to $73 million, accounting for 15% of total partner revenue.
Private markets partner accrued interest increased 14% to $702 million.
Petershill’s partner firms saw asset growth, with total assets under management reaching $337 billion, up 11%, and fee-based assets under management increasing to $238 billion, up 8%.
The firm also raised $32 billion in total fee-eligible assets during the year, exceeding its target range.
Fair value investments increased 11% to $5.8 billion. The firm ended the year with $23 million in cash and money market fund investments, down from $305 million in 2023 due to capital gains during the period.
Free cash flow conversion was reported at 82%, and book value per share increased to 471 cents from 431 cents.
For 2025, Petershill targets to raise $20 billion to $25 billion in fee-eligible assets and realize $5 billion to $10 billion in fee-paying assets.
Partner fee-related income is expected to be $180 million to $210 million, with Partner Performance Revenue expected to account for 15% to 30% of total partner revenue.
The company expects acquisitions to be above its mid-term target range of $100 million to $300 million per year and adjusted EBIT margins of 85% to 90%.
Later in the year, Petershill Partners acquired a stake in Frazier Healthcare Partners for $330 million, with an initial $16 million funded at closing and the remaining $314 million deferred primarily in 2026 and 2027.
Frazier Healthcare Partners is a healthcare-focused private equity firm with $5.5 billion in assets.
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