Private equity backed businesses show increased standards of disclosure and compliance with Walker Guidelines
The latest Private Equity Annual Public Reports – reviewing the industry’s financial performance and disclosure – have been published today.
The reporting process brings together three complementary annual reports which promote transparency by the UK’s largest private equity-backed companies and their investors.
Designed to be read together, the reports underpin the private equity industry’s continued commitment to openness and accountability in support of the UK economy.
- Largest ever number of companies publish reports and comply with Guidelines
- Significant increase in proportion of companies with “good standards of disclosure”
- 11 companies failed, however, to comply fully with requirements
- New enhanced requirements will be fully in place from 2026, following a refresh of the of the Guidelines
- Nick Land, Chair of Private Equity Reporting Group (PERG): “While overall, the UK private capital industry continues to become more transparent, we remain disappointed that a small number of large, well-resourced businesses have failed to meet accepted standards of reporting and transparency.”
The three reports are:
- Private Equity Reporting Group Eighteenth Annual Report
- EY Report on the Performance of Portfolio Companies, XVIII
- PwC Good Practice Reporting by Portfolio Companies Guide
Now in its 18th year, the reports are compiled by and for the Private Equity Reporting Group (PERG), the independent body that monitors the industry’s compliance with the Walker Guidelines on transparency and disclosure.
Refreshed guidelines
The refreshed Walker Guidelines will be in full effect from 2026, modernising the framework for today’s reporting environment.
Key changes include:
- A new £500 million enterprise-value threshold and £200 million revenue test, aligning the scope with FTSE 250 comparators.
- A ‘smoothing mechanism’ to ensure companies that grow into or out of scope are treated proportionately.
- Expanded disclosure on environmental impact, diversity, equity and inclusion, and principal risks.
These updates ensure the Guidelines remain fit for purpose, providing meaningful transparency for stakeholders and reflecting the increasing scale of UK private-equity investment.
Highlights
i. Compliance and Disclosures
This year’s review covered 98 portfolio companies backed by 65 private equity firms and similar investors, up from 90 companies last year.
87 portfolio companies complied with the core components of the Guidelines: enhanced disclosures, publication of reports and provision of data to EY.
Within the sample of 27 companies reviewed in detail, 100% were ultimately compliant – either through their annual report or an addendum – and 56% reached a good standard of disclosure (2024: 43%).
74% included a Statement of Compliance in their annual report (2024: 78%). This statement is regarded by the PERG as the private-market equivalent of the “fair, balanced and understandable” test under the UK Corporate Governance Code.
The number of companies requiring an addendum to achieve compliance remained at seven, representing 26% of the sample – a continued improvement on pre-2023 levels.
Environmental reporting and social, community and human-rights were the areas of greatest progress, while disclosures on strategy, gender diversity and financial KPIs were identified as requiring improvement.
11 portfolio companies, however, failed to comply with any of these requirements, despite repeated engagement by the PERG.
Non-compliant portfolio companies and their owners (2025):
- Acacium Group – Onex
- Arriva – I Squared Capital
- Biffa – Energy Capital Partners
- Energy Assets Group – Asterion Industrial Partners
- Equiniti Group – Siris Capital
- Interpath Advisory – H.I.G Capital
- McCarthy & Stone – Lone Star Funds
- PureGym – Leonard Green & Partners
- Punch Taverns – Fortress Investment Group
- TES Global – Onex
- Voyage Healthcare – Wren House Infrastructure
None of the 11 companies failing to comply with the requirements set down in the Guidelines are members of the BVCA.
ii. Publication of annual reports
74% of portfolio companies published their annual report within six months of year-end (2024: 81%) and 84% published a mid-year update within three months (2024: 85%).
The PERG reiterated that embedding full disclosure within the annual report – rather than relying on website addenda – is essential to demonstrate genuine commitment to transparency.
iii. Private equity firm disclosures
100% of private equity firms met the disclosure requirements on their own websites, publishing sufficient information about their leadership, portfolio, investment approach and commitment to the Guidelines.
BVCA members reaffirmed this commitment through annual statements of conformity confirming their own disclosures — and those of their portfolio companies – are compliant.
iv. Performance of portfolio companies
Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, portfolio companies continued to deliver growth and investment:
- Revenue growth: 5.0% since acquisition, above the public-company benchmark of 4.5%.
- EBITDA growth: 3.8% since acquisition, versus 7.2% for the public company benchmark.
- Capital productivity: 9.0% since acquisition, ahead of 2.4% for the public company benchmark.
- Average ownership: 6.1 years for exited companies; 4.9 years for those still held.
88% of portfolio companies provided the necessary data for inclusion in EY’s analysis (2024: 87%).
“For almost twenty years, British companies backed by private capital have been showing their commitment to transparency by complying with the Walker Guidelines. The intention has always been that large private equity backed companies should demonstrate comparable levels of openness and transparency as their publicly listed peers.
“This year almost 100 companies are in scope of the Walker Guidelines, and the vast majority of these companies have worked hard to meet the relevant standards.
“While overall, the UK private capital industry continues to become more transparent, and more companies have disclosed to a good standard this year, we remain disappointed that a small number of large, well-resourced businesses have failed to meet accepted standards of reporting and transparency.”
“Private capital is playing an increasingly important role in the UK economy – backing 2.5 million jobs and supporting 7% of UK GDP. As the industry has grown, so has its commitment to transparency – and every year, more companies are providing open, transparent reports on their performance and progress.
“At the same time, every year we publish the combined financial results of large companies backed by private capital in the UK. This gives a meaningful sense of how companies backed by private capital are performing – in good times, and more challenging ones.
“This year’s results once again reflect a challenging economic climate in the UK but also remind us of the long-term value that is created by private capital. While the year-on-year performance has been subdued for many companies, over a longer time frame companies backed by private capital perform strongly, while also helping to provide the investment the UK economy urgently needs.”
Media Contacts
For further information, to learn more about the PERG or the Guidelines contact [email protected].
Notes to editors
1. About the UK Private Equity Annual Public Reports
These three independently prepared reports promote transparency among large UK private-equity-backed companies. They fall within the scope of the Walker Guidelines on Disclosure and Transparency in Private Equity, established in 2007 following Sir David Walker’s independent review.
2. About the Walker Guidelines
The Guidelines require:
- Enhanced narrative and financial disclosures in annual reports;
- Timely publication of annual and mid-year updates;
- Public disclosures by private-equity firms on their investment approach and UK portfolio; and
- Provision of data for independent analysis of performance.
The Guidelines operate on a comply or explain basis and are overseen by the Private Equity Reporting Group, supported by PwC and EY as independent advisers.
Read the reports
Published 10 December 2025
- Private Equity Reporting Group Eighteenth Annual Report
- EY Report on the Performance of Portfolio Companies, XVIII
- PwC Good Practice Reporting by Portfolio Companies Guide
