Pantheon International PLC (LSE:PIN, FRA:PAA0) has hailed the "strong execution of our strategic agenda" after a year in which it sold assets, cut the number of managers it works with, renegotiated its fees and handed back capital to shareholders.
The FTSE 250 investment trust, which gives investors access to a global portfolio of private equity-backed companies, became an active seller in the secondary market for the first time.
A targeted portfolio sale announced in May was struck at a blended discount of 8.1% to the reference net asset value.
It generated net proceeds of £224 million, equivalent to 10.7% of the trust's net asset value at the end of March.
Of that, £180 million has been allocated to share buybacks.
The disposal also accelerated a rebalancing of the portfolio towards a smaller group of private equity managers with deep sector expertise and proven track records.
The trust is cutting its manager relationships from around 90 at the end of November 2025 to a target of roughly 25. The count has already fallen 32% to 62.
A new management fee arrangement took effect from 1 June, charging a flat 1% of net asset value with nothing payable on undrawn commitments.
Had that structure applied in the 2025 financial year, it would have cut the management fee by 19%, or £5.3 million.
Renegotiated fees on the credit facility save a further £1 million a year. The company has also established a distribution pool, a ring-fenced pot of cash the board can deploy for buybacks or other returns at its discretion, which stood at £199.9 million at the year end.
Pantheon International has returned about £400 million to shareholders since its 2022 financial year, a figure expected to reach roughly £580 million once the latest buyback commitment completes.
The market has responded. The discount, the gap between the share price and the underlying value of the portfolio, narrowed from 40% at the end of May 2025 to 21% a year later.
The shares rose 37.5% over the financial year, comfortably ahead of the 28.0% total return from the MSCI World index and the 21.6% from the FTSE All-Share.
Net asset value per share rose 4.3% over the twelve months to 31 May, with underlying valuation gains and investment income contributing 3.8% and currency movements adding 0.7%.
The £118 million spent on buybacks during the year added 2.2% to the NAV total return.
The portfolio generated net cash flow of £214.9 million, with the distribution rate recovering to 16% from an unprecedented low of 8% in the 2024 financial year.
Chair Tony Morgan described a year of resilient performance against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop for private equity.
