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European listed fund of funds Standard Life reports record private equity distributions

Standard Life European Private Equity Trust, the listed unit of the Scotland-based fund of funds, has reported record distributions from its private equity investments over the last 12 months. The firm said it had received £40m in distributions in the year ended September 30th, three times the amount it received during the same period a year earlier.

Standard Life said net asset value per share had risen 13 per cent to 105.9p over the previous 12 months.

The fund's strong returns have been driven by a significant increase in buy-out exit activity over the past year. This, in turn, has been underpinned by a steady recovery in public markets, a big jump in recapitalisations, a lot more secondary buy-out activity, and the re-emergence of trade buyers.

The trust has investments in 30 different private equity funds, concentrated in the buy-out segment. The firm said in a statement that investment activity had slowed over the last 12 months while managers concentrated on exiting existing investments.

Standard Life also manages unlisted funds of funds. It closed its latest fund with commitments of just over E1bn at the start of the year.

The recovery in distributions, as evidenced in Standard Life's results, is expected to be a major driver in new fundraising for private equity groups over the next year. A large share of the cash returned to investors will be ploughed back into new commitments, helping top fuel a further improvement in fundraising.

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