Pollen Street (POLN) H1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Assets under management (AUM) reached £8.5 billion at June 2026, split nearly evenly between private equity and credit, with fee-paying AUM up 18% year-over-year, driven by strong fundraising and platform scaling.

• Fund Management EBITDA rose 73% year-over-year (adjusted) to £16.1 million, with a margin of 40%, on track to meet or exceed full-year expectations.

• Net investment return for the period was 3.4% (£5.7 million), significantly below target due to mark-to-market volatility in Shawbrook and equalization effects from Credit IV.

• Interim dividend increased 6% to 28.5 pence per share, with over £7 million in share buybacks completed in H1 2026.

• Continued investment in talent, technology, and data to drive operational leverage and long-term value creation.

Financial highlights

• Fund management revenue for H1 2026 was £40.2 million (adjusted), up 22% year-over-year, with management fees at £33.9 million and performance fees at £6.4 million.

• Fund management EBITDA margin was 40% (H1 2025 adjusted: 28%), and earnings per share decreased to 33.3 pence.

• Profit after tax was £19.9 million (H1 2025: £27.9 million; Adjusted H1 2025: £19.6 million).

• Total income for H1 2026 was £54.3 million, down from £63.8 million in H1 2025, reflecting non-recurrence of catch-up fees.

• Underlying net investment return for H1, excluding one-time items, was 7.4%.

Outlook and guidance

• On track to deliver or exceed full-year consensus expectations, with embedded growth from undeployed capital and new fund launches.

• Private Equity Fund VI target size set between €1.75 billion and €2 billion, with preparations underway.

• Asset Manager confident in achieving £10 billion AUM target with next flagship funds.

• Returns on GP Commitments to Private Equity funds anticipated to be weighted towards H2.

• No significant change in exit environment expected for H2; several exits anticipated before year-end.