Pollen Street Group has upgraded its guidance for growth of its assets under management (AUM), after reporting strong progress against fundraising targets and increased profits in its annual results.
The asset manager, which invests across both private credit and private equity opportunities, said that “2023 was a successful year for Pollen Street Group with strong financial and strategic performance”.
Total AUM grew to £4.2bn as at 31 December 2023, up from £3.4bn the previous year, which Pollen Street said was driven by fundraising in private equity and deployment in private credit.
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Fee-paying AUM came in at £3.4bn, a 36 per cent year-on-year increase, while pre-tax profit rose by 23 per cent to £40.4m.
Income on net investment assets increased to £30.2m in 2023, up from £28.3m in 2022.
On the back of the results, Pollen Street said that it is upgrading its financial guidance.
It had previously guided to fee-paying AUM of £4bn to £5bn within two to three years of the completion of the merger with Honeycomb Investment Trust in September 2022.
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It now expects to exceed the £4bn threshold during 2024 and plans to grow its AUM to £10bn within four to five years.
It is also revising up its guidance for the return on net investment assets, from eight per cent in the long-term to low double digits within two to three years.
Pollen Street said that its key priorities for 2024 are the final close of Private Equity Fund V and the first close of Private Credit Fund IV, which is expected imminently. It also plans to continue to deploy its balance sheet to invest in Pollen Street’s funds and to deliver operational leverage through its platform as it continues to grow AUM.
“2023 has been a strong year for Pollen Street and we are delivering against our ambitions,” said chief executive Lindsey McMurray.
“With strong foundations in place, our progress in 2023 is ahead of target and has positioned us well to drive long-term organic growth. Looking ahead in 2024 in both private credit and private equity, we are seeing strong asset performance, resilient fund-raising progress and an attractive pipeline of new opportunities.”
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