On 18 March 2010, the Guidelines Monitoring Group (GMG) published guidance on good practice reporting to improve the transparency and disclosure of private equity owned portfolio companies. The main objective of the guidance is to assist portfolio companies to conform with the Guidelines for Disclosure and Transparency in Private Equity (Guidelines), issued in November 2007, by Sir David Walker’s Monitoring Group.
The GMG is an independent body and it issued its second annual report in December 2009 on its activity. It concluded in that report that the quality of disclosure varied significantly within a sample of portfolio companies used. The GMG notes now that, although efforts and a high level of commitment to the Guidelines have been shown by the private equity industry, improvement is still needed in some areas. This guidance therefore supports this by considering the three broad areas covered by the Guidelines (specific Guidelines, the business review required by the Companies Act 2006 and the enhanced business review) and providing a summary of good practice in each area, supported by examples of good practice from portfolio companies over the last two years.
(GMG, Guidelines for Disclosure and Transparency in Private Equity, 18/03/2010)
