Last checked at 26 Mar 2020 07:00
News Release
Guernsey, 26 March 2020
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited - statement on impact of Covid-19
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited ("Princess" or the "Company") today provides a statement on the impact of COVID-19.
Portfolio
Partners Group, the Investment Advisor to Princess, continues to monitor the situation closely and to support portfolio companies during this period. The spread of the virus, government policy responses and changing demand patterns are expected to have a negative impact on the operations and earnings of portfolio companies. At this early stage it is not possible to quantify the impact, but further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
The extent of the impact will depend on the length and severity of the crisis and is expected to vary widely between sectors and companies. Partners Group's investment approach targets investments in sub-sectors which benefit from long-term growth drivers such as demographics and technology, with limited exposure to companies in cyclical industries. A sector breakdown of the portfolio as of 29 February 2020 is provided below.
Sector | % portfolio |
Education Services | 16.4% |
Health Care | 15.0% |
Information Technology | 14.0% |
Retail* | 13.1% |
Financials | 8.9% |
Industrials | 8.5% |
Consumer Staples | 7.9% |
Materials | 5.5% |
Consumer Discretionary | 5.1% |
Energy | 3.2% |
Utilities | 1.6% |
Telecommunication Services | 0.8% |
*Includes Action which represented 10.2% of portfolio (11.2% of NAV) as of 29 February. An exit has been agreed and is expected to close in May 2020.
The Company's NAV as of 29 February 2020 does not reflect the impact of the declines in equity markets witnessed during March. These declines are expected to put downward pressure on the valuation multiples used to value the Company's portfolio companies and will be reflected in the NAV as of 31 March 2020.
Liquidity position
Partners Group continues to closely monitor the Company's liquidity position and remains confident that the Company has access to sufficient liquid resources to meet all liabilities as they fall due.
As of 29 February 2019, the Company held cash of EUR 12.3 million having drawn EUR 48.5 million of its EUR 50 million committed credit facility which it maintains to manage short-term liquidity requirements. As part of its ongoing review of liquidity management, the Company had initiated a renewal of the credit facility in January 2020 and on 18 March 2020 announced an increase in the size of the facility from EUR 50 million to EUR 80 million, and a term extension to December 2024. Liquidity will be significantly enhanced by the EUR 88.6 million of proceeds from the realisation of Princess' stake in Action which is expected to be received by the end of May.
The Investment Advisor
Partners Group has a long track record of investing in private markets and has deployed over USD 66 billion in private equity across market cycles. Partners Group's business continuity plans have been implemented and have enabled the firm to continue with no interruptions to its operations.
Ends.
About Princess
Princess is an investment holding company founded in 1999 and domiciled in Guernsey. It invests, inter alia, in private equity and private debt investments. Princess is advised in its investment activities by Partners Group, a global private markets investment management firm with USD 94 billion in investment programs under management in private equity, private debt, private real estate and private infrastructure. Princess aims to provide shareholders with long-term capital growth and an attractive dividend yield. Princess is traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: PEY for the Euro Quote; PEYS for the Sterling Quote).
Contacts
Princess Private Equity Holding Limited:
princess@partnersgroup.com
www.princess-privateequity.net
Registered Number: 35241
LEI: 54930038LU8RDPFFVJ57
Investor relations contact
George Crowe
Phone: +44 (0)20 7575 2771
Email: george.crowe@partnersgroup.com
Media relations contact
Jenny Blinch
Phone: +44 207 575 2571
Email: jenny.blinch@partnersgroup.com
www.partnersgroup.com
This document does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities and neither is it intended to be an investment advertisement or sales instrument of Princess. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes must inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions on the distribution of this document. In particular, this document and the information contained therein are not for distribution or publication, neither directly nor indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan.
This document may have been prepared using financial information contained in the books and records of the product described herein as of the reporting date. This information is believed to be accurate but has not been audited by any third party. This document may describe past performance, which may not be indicative of future results. No liability is accepted for any actions taken on the basis of the information provided in this document. Neither the contents of Princess' website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on Princess' website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.