Private equity refers to investment in private unquoted companies. It covers a wide spectrum of investments, from early stage investments in start-ups (venture capital) to the acquisition of large established companies (buyouts).

ICG Enterprise Trust focuses exclusively on buyouts in developed markets. We do this as we believe they offer the best risk / reward profile for our shareholders over the medium to long term.

A buyout typically involves the purchase of a majority of the equity of a well-established profitable company by one or more private equity funds.

Every day the lives of those living and working in the US and Western Europe are touched by companies owned by private equity: retailers, payments processors, home security, pet food, health services – the list is long. What typically unites these businesses is that they are profitable and cash generative. These businesses are actively managed by their shareholders, with management teams heavily incentivised to generate returns. Increasingly companies with these characteristics are choosing to grow under private equity ownership and to stay private for longer.

Within that, ICGT focuses on a subset of those companies that we expect will generate resilient growth. As more businesses are owned by private equity, we believe it is a structurally attractive allocation within an investment portfolio, with a track record of attractive returns, and significant opportunity to continue that trajectory.

A share in ICGT gives you access to a unique portfolio of private companies.