Private equity reporting must improve – BVCA

AROUND 13% of private equity groups reviewed by the British Venture Capital Association monitoring group failed to comply with reporting standards.

The group, which was established in 2007 in order to increase the transparency of the private equity industry, found that of the 31 portfolio companies reviewed, 27 met its standards, with the remaining four falling short.

Findings from this year's report show that there is a lower level of overall compliance than previous years, with Sir Michael Rake, head of the monitoring group, singling out Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Active and a firm owned by US presidential candidate Mitt Romney (pictured) for failing to meet the standards.

"It was disappointing to see an increase in the proportion of companies which failed to meet the requirements... [We] will be working with them to ensure their reporting standards improve," he said.

According to the report, the amount of companies owned by private equity groups has risen from 54 in 2007 to 79 today. Yet the number of firms failing to fall within the guidelines is 13%, up from 3% in 2011.