Morning briefing: NB Private Equity says four of five new investments are AI related
NB Private Equity (NBPE), the £600m co-investor in unquoted companies in North America and Europe, has made five new investments this year which it will hopes will bolster its growth prospects. The investment company, managed by Neuberger Neuman in New York, committed a total of $79m in the first quarter to the new holdings. These comprised of $9m in Conservice, a utility management platform for property management, alongside TPG; $35m in Ryan, a global tax services business; $24m into two undisclosed AI-related companies and $11m to a new investment expected to close in the next few months. Paul Daggett, a managing director at Neuberger, said: “Four of these investments are AI driven, or well positioned to benefit from AI, which we believe presents a compelling long-term opportunity.” Annual results show NBPE made a modest 5% total investment return last year but, after a slow start, realisations were strong with $180m of investments sold at an average 2.8 times over invested capital and at a 17% uplift to their carrying value three quarters earlier. The portfolio saw average revenue and earnings growth of 9.1% and 9.7% although its top ten investments, which include a top holding in discount retailer Action alongside 3i Group (III), delivered double-digit increases on both counts. NBPE returned $102m to shareholders through share buybacks and $0.94 of dividends per share, representing 8% of net assets at the start of 2025. After a 1.7% dip in March, reflecting falls in its quoted investments, the 5.1%-yielder’s net asset value stood per share at $27.12 (£20.57) to which the shares, at £13.80, trade at a 33% discount.
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