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Petershill Partners PLC, an investment firm operated by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, has announced that it intends to delist its shares from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and return capital to investors as part of its proposal. The company listed in London four years ago but is now set to delist from the LSE, citing persistent under-valuation and weak investor demand.
The company is proposing that it'll return about $ 921 million (equating to $4.15) of capital to its free-float shareholders through a combination of cash and other funding mechanisms. This Petershill Partners PLC decision to delist from the LSE is the latest blow to the UK’s ailing capital markets and investment trust industry.
The proposal values the company at about $4.5 billion—a 35% premium to Wednesday’s closing price—yet it has lost more than a third of its value since its debut. Petershill noted that its market valuation has suffered due to factors such as a limited free float and low trading liquidity.
The company's shareholders are being offered $4.15 per share in cash plus an interim dividend of $ 0.052 per share, making a total of $ 4.202 per share. This represents the 35% premium to the recent closing share price.
Reasons Petershill plans to leave London’s Stock Market
Petershill Partners Plc, a publicly traded unit spun out of Goldman Sachs’ Petershill division—which the bank launched in 2007 to tap into the growth of alternative assets—holds minority stakes in private equity and hedge fund firms.
However, despite strong financial results and a portfolio the board views as high quality with huge growth potential, management argues that public markets have consistently undervalued the company. This has prompted the company's decision to pursue a delisting from the LSE.
The company says it has been consistently undervalued on the stock market, a frustration shared by many other listed firms that feel their performance isn’t properly reflected in their share price. Its plan to delist is another setback for the UK exchange, which has faced plenty of high-profile exits in recent years.
It also adds to the growing list of investment trusts disappearing from public markets after enduring steep and prolonged discounts, a trend made worse by rising interest rates and long-standing concerns over limited scale and liquidity in the sector.
So, the delisting and return-of-capital plan is seen as a way to provide more immediate value to shareholders, rather than continuing in a public-market structure that, in the board’s view, is not optimally reflecting the company’s worth.
Petershill’s board said that after reviewing different options—such as adjusting its structure, pursuing further growth, and even moving to another exchange—it ultimately decided that delisting and return-of-capital was the best path forward.
The directors believe that the delisting and return-of-capital plan is a way to provide more immediate value to shareholders, rather than continuing in a public-market structure that is not optimally reflecting the company’s worth.
Petershill's Financials and Recent Performance
Roughly 80% of Petershill’s shares are owned by its affiliated closed-end funds. These investors won’t take part in the planned capital return but will keep their stakes in place as long-term holders. According to the company, they intend to focus on creating liquidity and enhancing the value of their investments, which they believe can be achieved more effectively once Petershill is operating as a private company.
In the first half of 2025, Petershill reported solid financial growth. Partner distributable earnings rose 9% to $152 million, while adjusted profit after tax jumped to $124 million from $94 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBIT also climbed to $167 million with margins holding steady near 89%. The firm’s partner assets under management reached $351 billion, up 6% year-on-year, with $245 billion of that generating fees.
Alongside these results, Petershill made several portfolio moves. It sold its stake in General Catalyst for about $726 million, bought into Frazier Healthcare Partners for $330 million, and after the reporting period, completed the sale of Harvest Partners for $561 million while adding a follow-on investment in STG Partners worth $158 million.
To fund its planned return of capital, Petershill will rely on cash, proceeds from asset disposals, and some additional borrowing. The package amounts to roughly $4.202 per share, including an interim dividend. The board also highlighted that around 80% of the company’s shares are tied up in long-term Goldman Sachs funds rather than being freely traded, and that the book value per share stood at about 470 cents at the end of 2024.
