Petershill Partners AuM rises 1pc, partner fee-related earnings fall

(Sharecast News) - Petershill Partners reported $7bn in gross fee-eligible assets raised during the first quarter of 2025, supporting a 1% quarterly rise in aggregate partner-firm assets under management to $339bn, and a 9% increase year-on-year. Fee-paying assets under management fell 2% during the quarter to $234bn, primarily due to the disposal of its stake in General Catalyst, but remained up 4% compared to the first quarter of 2024.

Partner fee-related earnings (FRE) fell 12% year-on-year to $45m, reflecting a 3% decline in net management and advisory fees to $90m and a 7% increase in partner-related expenses.

However, excluding the impact of the General Catalyst and LMR Partners disposals, FRE grew 12%, with adjusted management fees up 14%.

Excluding $1m in non-recurring expenses, the underlying FRE increase was 11%.

Distributable earnings rose 28% to $73m, driven by higher realised performance revenues of $26m, including $19m from disposed assets, up from just $3m a year earlier.

Realised investment income was marginally lower at $2m.

During the quarter, Petershill completed the sale of most of its interest in General Catalyst for $726m, representing a 62% premium to the last reported valuation.

It also acquired a stake in Frazier Healthcare Partners for $330m, expanding its exposure to healthcare-focused private equity, with Frazier managing $5.5 billion in AUM.

The company reiterated its 2025 full-year guidance issued in March, citing continued investment discipline and strategic portfolio realignment.

"During the first three months of 2025, our partner-firms' continued to experience steady fund-raising activity with $7bn of gross fee eligible assets raised," said managing directors Ali Raissi-Dehkordy and Robert Hamilton Kelly in a joint statement.

"Underlying financial performance from our partner-firms, adjusted for disposals, continued to deliver double digit FRE growth.

"Strategically, we had an active start to the year, completing the sale of the majority of our stake in General Catalyst and returning $151m from the initial proceeds through a special dividend."

Raissi-Dehkordy and Hamilton Kelly said the company also completed the acquisition of a stake in Frazier Healthcare Partners, consistent with its strategy of focusing on alternative private market firms.

"Economic uncertainty increased in recent months and the outlook for capital markets activity and investor sentiment remains unclear, but our partner-firms' robust capital raising and the company's dynamic approach to capital allocation underpin our ongoing confidence in delivering for our shareholders."

At 1003 BST, shares in Petershill Partners were down 3.92% at 207.52p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.