FPEA F&C Priv. Res

RNS Number:9889N
F&C Private Equity Trust PLC
15 December 2006




F&C Private Equity Trust PLC ("F&CPET")



Portfolio Review for the two months to 30 September 2006


*        Interim Dividends of  1.0p per A share and 2.1p per B share

*        NAV increases of  2.9% per A share and 2.0% per B share

*        3 new fund commitments

*        High levels of investment activity


Net Asset Values and Dividends



The Company has changed its year-end and this is the first review using calendar
year quarter end dates. The review covers the two-month period since the 31 July
valuation. The C pool converted completely into the B pool on 25 September and
the small residual portfolio of smaller company stocks (#0.6m) is now held
directly in the B pool.  The A pool had net assets of #25.2m at 30 September.
This has now reduced by #10.4m following the payment of the special dividend of
15.5p per A share on 20 October. The NAV per A share at 30 September was 37.52p,
an increase since 31 July of 2.9%. The B pool had net assets of #122.6m at 30
September. The NAV per B share was 169.62p, an increase since 31 July of 2.0%.



An interim dividend in respect of the period to 31 December 2006 of 1.0p per A
share and 2.1p per B share will be paid on 19 January 2007 to those shareholders
on the register at 29 December 2006.



New Commitments



During the two-month period the Company has made three new fund commitments.
These cover new geographic areas for F&C PET. Euro5m has been committed to Gilde
Buyout Fund III. This fund covers the Benelux and neighbouring countries. Gilde
is one of the better-known Dutch-based mid-market private equity groups. F&C PET
has also made its first commitment to Italy through the purchase of a secondary
position in Alto Capital I for Euro3.24m. Subsequent to the quarter-end an
additional commitment of Euro3m was made to Alto's new fund. After having reviewed
numerous Asian funds over the years, we have made our first commitment to a
purely Asian fund, through a $5m participation in AIF Capital Asia III. This is
a particularly strong and experienced team who cover the principal markets of
Greater China and India.



Since the quarter-end we have acquired another secondary investment in the form
of Argan Capital - the former Bank of America European private equity team and
portfolio. Euro4.9m was invested in this fund giving immediate exposure to a
maturing portfolio. More recently we have invested $4.2m in 3si, the US-based
cash security and protection company. This deal was led by Stirling Square
Capital Partners.  Additionally, F&C PET invested #2m for 15.5% of European
Boating Holidays (RJD lead) and an additional #0.75m has been invested in
Equidebt, the debt collection company, to help with its growth plans.  Very
recently #5m has been committed to Alchemy Special Opportunities Fund. There are
a number of other commitments and co-investments under consideration and some of
these will be implemented before the end of 2006. The total outstanding
commitments of the B pool, including those made after the end of September, are
#138m. At 30 September the B pool had cash and cash equivalents of #30.2m.
Since the quarter-end drawdowns and new investments have reduced liquidity to
approximately #20m.







Drawdowns



Total drawdowns and new investments in the two month period amounted to #6.94m.
The more notable individual investments included #906,087 by Candover 2005 into
private mail company DX/SMS - #460,000 by Primary Capital III into Tobar, a
multichannel vendor of toys, gifts and gadgets; #310,282 by Blue Point Capital
Partners II into DriEaz, a company specializing in drying products; a combined
#723,455  by Inflexion (through fund II and HFP) into Parasol, a leading
employment agency in the North West of England; and #382,108 by Chequers into
HBI, the vehicle for taking private catering company Elior.



Realisations



Realisations from funds and direct investments totalled #2.5m over the two
months. Chequers Capital distributed #454,429. This was from the partial sale of
Tractel (building hoists) where Chequers have so far achieved a 31% IRR, and
refinancing of Fregate (warehouse systems) where the IRR is 38%. Academy Music
Group completed its refinancing returning #704,126. International Mezzanine
Investment redeemed another tranche of loan stock and F&C PET's share of this
was #469,641.



Valuation Changes



The total valuation uplift for the portfolio is #3.6m. The largest individual
contributor to this was Gondola Holdings which, with its imminent realisation,
contributed #1.28m. Other large gains were Hicks Muse Fund IV (#577,329) where
the Latin American media investment Davivo has come good; Candover 1997 Fund
(#521,745) with the sale of Vestolit now announced; and Inflexion (#264,557) and
HFP (#477,981) both beneficiaries from the sale of ACIS. The impact of foreign
exchange movements was minimal with an adverse movement of #0.2m.



Outlook



The dealflow of new fund and direct investment opportunities is strong. We have
been encouraged by the number and quality of secondary opportunities. These have
allowed us to deploy a significant amount of the Company's liquidity into
maturing portfolios where there are good prospects of positive returns over the
medium term. The co-investment portfolio is developing well at the underlying
company level and we would expect that 2007 will see some worthwhile
realisations. We have experienced a very busy period for new investments and
this pace of activity is likely to moderate somewhat in the New Year.




For more information


Hamish Mair, F&C Asset Management plc

Mike Woodward,  F&C Asset Management plc

Tel. 0131 718 1000




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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