REG - HgCapital Trust PLC - Preliminary Trading Update

HgCapital TrustAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 7153T  HgCapital Trust PLC  04 August 2025

HgCAPITAL TRUST PLC

PRELIMINARY TRADING UPDATE FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD ENDED 30 JUNE 2025

 

CONTINUED STRONG TRADING GROWTH AND TRANSACTION ACTIVITY

London, 4 August 2025: HgCapital Trust plc ('HgT') today announces a
preliminary trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2025.

 

HgT provides investors with a listed vehicle to invest in one the largest and
fastest growing portfolios of unquoted technology companies in Europe(1),
managed by Hg.

The objective of HgT is to provide shareholders with consistent long‑term
returns in excess of the FTSE All‑Share Index by investing predominantly in
unquoted businesses where value can be created through strategic and
operational change.

Highlights for H1 2025 include:

●     Estimated Net Asset Value ('NAV') per share of 540.2 pence
(unaudited)

●     Estimated NAV total return per share of -0.3%(2)

●     Share price total return of -3.8%(2)

●     Strong underlying performance from the portfolio with LTM revenue
and EBITDA(3) growth of 19% and 19% for the overall portfolio to 31 May 2025

●     Investments of £306 million and realisations of £165 million

●     New commitment to Hg Saturn 4 of $1.0 billion

●    Available liquid resources of £432 million (including a £375
million credit facility, which was undrawn at 30 June 2025)

●     Outstanding commitments to Hg funds totalling £1.4 billion which
are expected to be called over the next 3-4 years

NAV performance

HgT's unaudited estimated net assets of £2.5 billion at 30 June 2025,
represent an estimated NAV per share of 540.2 pence, based on portfolio
company valuations at 30 June and reviewed by the HgT Audit, Valuation and
Risk Committee.

Estimated NAV total return for H1 was -0.3%, as positive performance in Q2
(+1.7%) largely offset the decline in Q1 (-2.0%).

Strong trading from the underlying portfolio companies was a key driver of
performance in H1, contributing +7% to portfolio value over the first half of
the year.

While trading remains the key driver of performance over the long-term,
movements in comparable transaction multiples can impact performance over
shorter-term periods, and this was the case during the first half of 2025.
Elevated public market volatility saw multiples used to value HgT's portfolio
companies contract, detracting from portfolio valuations by -4% over the
reporting period. In addition, adverse FX movements (-1%) and an increase in
net debt (-1%) contributed to a decline in the NAV performance.

Investment activity

●     HgT invested £306 million in H1 2025, including new and follow-on
investments in IFS, P&I, Citation and Scopevisio, including £34 million
of co-investment (on which HgT does not pay management fees or carried
interest). Co-investments now represent c. 10% of NAV, in line with HgT's
long-term goal of 10-15%.

●     Post-period investment of £49 million including a new investment
in A-LIGN which is expected to complete in August 2025.

 

 

Realisation activity

●   Gross proceeds from realisations during the period of £165 million.
This includes proceeds from P&I, Citation, Trackunit and smartTrade.

 

Pro-forma balance sheet

Allowing for all FX movements and transactions announced as at the date of
this trading update:

●     New commitments to Hg Genesis 11 of €350 million and Hg Mercury
5 of €150 million which are expected to start investing in 2026.

●     Pro-forma available liquid resources of £383 million (including a
£375 million credit facility of which £28 million was drawn at the time of
this announcement).

●     Pro-forma outstanding commitments to Hg funds of £1.7 billion
which are expected to be called over the next 4-5 years.

With consistent underlying portfolio performance and increasingly active deal
markets, prospects for the second half of the year are encouraging.

 

Hg REPORTS STRONG TRADING AND TRANSACTION ACTIVITY OVER H1 2025 CONTINUES TO
HIGHLIGHT THE STRENGTH OF DISCIPLINED FUND MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE

The first half of 2025 saw continued investment and realisation activity, with
a total of eight transactions announced or completed. This was accompanied by
strong underlying trading performance across the portfolio.

Investment activity has continued across all Hg funds, at levels consistent
with the long-run average, with $4.5 billion deployed year-to-date. This
activity continues to focus on businesses within the end-market,
mission-critical software and services 'clusters' which Hg has tracked for
many years.

Year-to-date, Hg has realised over $2.0 billion of proceeds from liquidity
events as part of a continued focus on returning cash back to investors.

This record of realisations achieved compares favourably to peers, as the
industry continues to find generating liquidity challenging. The performance
achieved by Hg continues to show the fundamental strengths and attractiveness
of the underlying portfolio companies to both trade and financial buyers.

HgT will report its full interim results for the first six months of the year
on 15 September 2025.

 

(1) By Enterprise Value, Source: Hg, Factset.

(2) Total return assumes that all historical dividends have been re-invested.

(3) Excluding investments valued on a basis other than earnings

 

- ends -

 

For further information please contact:

 

HgCapital Trust

Laura Dixon

laura.dixon@hgcapital.com

+44 78 2459 2894

 

George Crowe

george.crowe@hgcapital.com

+44 7774 617 150

 

Hg

Tom Eckersley

tom.eckersley@hgcapital.com

 

Sam Ferris

sam.ferris@hgcapital.com

 

Cadarn

Lucy Clark

lucy@cadarncapital.com

+44 (0)7984 184 461

 

David Harris

david@cadarncapital.com

+44 (0)7368 883 211

 

Notes:

1.     Please be advised that this announcement may contain inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014
as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

 

2.     This announcement may include "forward-looking statements". These
forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's objectives,
intentions, beliefs or current expectations with respect to, amongst other
things, the Company's financial position, business strategy, results of
operations, liquidity, prospects and growth. Forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.  Accordingly, the
Company's actual future financial results, operational performance and
achievements may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the
statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not
to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak
only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect actual results or any change in the Company's
expectations with regard to them or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so
by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Listing Rules or
Prospectus Regulation Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority or other
applicable laws, regulations or rules.

 

3.     Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The
value of shares and the income from them can go down as well as up as a result
of market and currency fluctuations. You may not get back the amount you
invest.

 

 

( )About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc is an investment company whose shares are listed on the
London Stock Exchange (HGT.L). HgT gives investors exposure, through a liquid
vehicle, to a portfolio of high-growth unquoted companies, managed by Hg, an
experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track
record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors.

Further information on HgT including a short introduction video is available
here: https://www.hgcapitaltrust.com/ (https://www.hgcapitaltrust.com/)

 

 

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