Bridgepoint Group (LON:BPT) reported a stronger-than-expected first half, with management pointing to fundraising momentum, earlier-than-anticipated performance-related earnings and continued capital returns to investors.
Chief Executive Raoul said the private markets firm’s business “continues to fire on all cylinders” shortly after announcing the planned acquisition of Kayne Anderson Real Estate. He said the transaction had been “very well received” by Kayne, Bridgepoint and the firm’s fund investors.
Bridgepoint reported underlying EBITDA of £227 million for the first half, up 78% from the same period a year earlier, with an EBITDA margin of 61%. Group CFO Ruth Prior said the first-half result had “helped de-risk the full year numbers.”
Fundraising Progress Accelerates
Raoul said Bridgepoint has raised €2.5 billion of additional commitments since the Kayne announcement. The company recently increased its fundraising target to €28 billion and said it has seen further progress toward that goal.
Bridgepoint said its BE VIII fund has held a further close and now stands at more than €7 billion, exceeding the size of its predecessor fund. Prior said the final close for BE VIII is expected in the first quarter of 2027 at between €8 billion and €8.5 billion, and that the fund began paying fees sooner than originally expected.
In credit, BDL IV held its final close at €5.1 billion of investable capital. ECP VI has raised $7 billion, and Bridgepoint said its hard cap was increased from $7.5 billion to $7.8 billion of external capital following agreement from fund investors, in order to accommodate limited partners who would otherwise have missed out on allocations. Including the GP commitment, Raoul said Bridgepoint is now highly confident of a fund greater than €8 billion.
Performance-Related Earnings Lift Results
Prior said management fees excluding catch-up fees increased 16%, in line with guidance. The “standout performance,” she said, was in performance-related earnings, where £121 million of carry recognition and co-investment gains delivered about two-thirds of the amount expected for the full year.
Bridgepoint recorded £120.7 million of PRE in the first half. Prior said the company remains well positioned to reach guidance for PRE of around 25% of total income for the full year. Because so much of the expected PRE was recorded in the first half, she said the full-year EBITDA margin is likely to be lower than the first-half margin, but still “comfortably within” the guided range of 55% to 60%.
Deployment and Exits Remain Active
Bridgepoint said it continued a steady pace of capital deployment and exits in the middle market. The firm made seven new platform investments in private equity during the period. In infrastructure, it invested in the largest service provider to the nuclear power industry in North America.
Total capital invested over the last six months was €3.6 billion. Prior said BE VII made its final investment, while BE VIII announced its first investment. With additional investments in the pipeline, Bridgepoint expects to deploy about another €2 billion “in the very short term.”
Capital returned to fund investors reached a record €16.6 billion, driven in large part by the closing of the Calpine transaction. Excluding Calpine, Bridgepoint said first-half capital returns of about €4 billion still compared favorably with prior periods.
Prior said infrastructure returns were “nothing short of extraordinary,” citing Symmetry, Calpine and Cornerstone, which achieved money multiples between 4.4 times and 6.4 times. She said those returns contributed to the strength in performance-related earnings reported in the first half.
AUM and Fee-Paying AUM Bridge
Prior said there were several moving parts in the first half, including a 28% increase in fee-paying AUM. For total AUM, fundraising added $3.2 billion, while Newbury Bridgepoint added $3.9 billion. Divestments totaled $17.9 billion, including around $14 billion from the Calpine exit. Value progression in funds added $5.2 billion, while foreign exchange was a $1.3 billion headwind.
For fee-paying AUM, successful fundraising added $11.3 billion, Newbury Bridgepoint added $3.5 billion and deployment in credit funds added $0.7 billion. Realizations totaled $1.3 billion, step-downs accounted for $0.6 billion and foreign exchange was a $0.8 billion headwind.
Prior said the difference between the divestment movement in total AUM and realizations and step-downs in fee-paying AUM reflected the amount of co-investment used alongside fund capital in the Calpine transaction. That co-investment was not fee-paying and therefore was not included in fee-paying AUM.
Kayne Deal Expected to Broaden Platform
Raoul said the pending acquisition of Kayne will make Bridgepoint “stronger, more diversified, and more resilient,” with the combined group more evenly balanced across Europe and the U.S. He said that, after the deal, 50% of AUM would be in real asset investing.
Bridgepoint also highlighted improved share liquidity. Prior said liquidity reached 3.3 times last year’s average daily traded volume in the first half. With the final IPO lock-up expiry later this month, she said the free float will increase and be reflected in FTSE Russell Index weightings at the next rebalancing in September.
Raoul said Bridgepoint’s middle-market positioning and focus on alpha-driven investing continue to differentiate the firm. He also said the company’s almost exclusively closed-end funds continue to attract large institutional investors, particularly in a market where liquidity remains a key focus for limited partners.
About Bridgepoint Group (LON:BPT)
Bridgepoint Group plc is a private equity and private credit firm specializing in middle market, small mid cap, small cap, growth capital, buyouts investments, syndicate debt, infrastructure, direct lending and credit opportunities in private credit investments. It prefers to invest in advanced industrials, automation, agricultural sciences, energy transition enablers, business services, financial services, professional services, testing inspection and certification, information services, consumer, digital brands, video games, wellbeing products, health care, pharma and MedTech outsourced services, pharma products, and MedTech Products sectors.
