Strategic report / Portfolio overview
Private Equity Funds and
Direct Investments portfolio
The top three contributors to NAV growth during the period were Clio, Phenna and TechInsights, contributing increases of 33 pence, 23 pence and 13 pence per share, demonstrating strong performance across the sectors.
Private Equity Funds – Top 10 movements (£m)
A resilient performance of the underlying portfolio positively contributed to OCI’s Total NAV Return of 6%.
The largest five contributors to growth were Clio*, Phenna, TechInsights, Bright Stars and IU Group.
*In November, Origin I disposed of its stake in vLex, a cloud-based legal information subscription platform, to Clio, a global leader in legal technology, generating a Realised gross Money Multiple of >6x. As part of the transaction, Origin I partially reinvested in Clio, in order to benefit from expected future growth.
Note: Figures represent the net look-through movement in portfolio company value.
A solid performance of the underlying portfolio positively contributed to OCI’s Total NAV Return of 6%.
The largest five contributors to growth in 2025 from Oakley Funds were Clio, Phenna, TechInsights, Bright Stars and IU Group. Driven by the significant NAV uplift arising from the realisation of vLex, Clio was the standout performer, contributing £55 million of net valuation gain to OCI’s Total NAV Return at year-end.
Steer’s contribution to NAV declined during the year, despite revenue growth ahead of the broader market. In a challenging trading environment, Steer continued to lead industry consolidation, expanding from 98 sites to approximately 200 sites as at December 2025. The NAV movement primarily reflects a higher cost base following M&A activity, with synergies yet to be fully realised, together with the impact of the UK Government’s national insurance reform, effective from April 2025.
ACE Education’s contribution to NAV declined, due to reductions in both revenue and EBITDA following a challenging academic year, mainly as a result of a contraction in the French apprenticeship part of the market. In response, ACE Education has strengthened its leadership team and is focused on delivering cost efficiencies.
Contabo’s contribution to NAV also declined, reflecting market uncertainty in respect of broader geopolitical risk.
When considering the contribution from the OCI Direct Investments (not shown in the table above), the North Sails direct position was one of the leading drivers of NAV growth in the period, contributing £15 million. However, this was offset by Time Out’s unrealised loss of £54 million, driven by the decline in Time Out’s share price.