Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust : Interim Report to 31 March 2023

Half-Yearly Report

31 March 2023 abrdnpeot.co.uk

Company number: SC216638

Contents

Overview

At a Glance	1
An Introduction to APEO	2
Performance Highlights	3
Our Pillars	4

Investment Manager's Review

APEO Interim Report 2023

At a Glance

abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust plc (the "Company" or "APEO") is an investment trust with a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Chair's Statement	6
Interim Management Report	10
Directors' Responsibility Statement	11
Investment Strategy	12
Investment Manager's Review	14
Ten Largest Investments	30
Investment Portfolio	32

Financial Statements (unaudited)

APEO provides investors with exposure to leading private equity funds and private companies, mainly in Europe.

Its investments are across primary funds, secondaries and co-investments, and are driven by its Manager's deep, longstanding relationships with a group of core private equity firms. Its investment objective is to achieve attractive long-term total returns

for investors and its policy is to maintain a broadly diversified portfolio by country, industry sector, maturity and number of underlying investments.

APEO has appointed abrdn Capital Partners LLP, a wholly owned subsidiary of abrdn plc, as its alternative investment fund manager ("AIFM") and Manager (the "Investment Manager" or the "Manager").

Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income	38
Condensed Statement of Financial Position	39
Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity	40
Condensed Statement of Cash Flows	41
Notes to the Financial Statements	42

Corporate Information

Glossary of Terms - Alternative Performance Measures	50
Glossary of Terms		52
Investor Information		54
Contact Addresses	inside back cover

Established	European	Strong PE
2001	Focus	Relationships

Experienced	c.£1.2bn	FTSE 250
Manager	Net Assets

1

An Introduction to APEO

A diversified portfolio of private equity funds and co-investments principally focused on the European mid-market.

APEO partners with some of the leading private equity firms, principally in Europe, through fund investments and co-investments. Our 12 core European private equity relationships represent around 57% of portfolio NAV.

Through funds and co-investments, these private equity firms then invest into market-leading private companies, some of which are household names, but many of which are not widely known and not easily accessible

APEO Interim Report 2023

Performance Highlights~

NAV Total Return*+		Share Price Total Return*+
3.0%		2.3%
Six months ended 31 March 2023		Six months ended 31 March 2023
Six months ended 31 March 2022	6.8%	Six months ended 31 March 2022	5.8%
Year ended 30 September 2022	14.1%	Year ended 30 September 2022	-15.1%
FTSE All-Share Index Total Return		Net Assets
12.3%		£1,181.4m
Six months ended 31 March 2023		As at 31 March 2023
Six months ended 31 March 2022	4.7%	As at 31 March 2022	£1,095.3m
Year ended 30 September 2022	-4.0%	As at 30 September 2022	£1,158.1m
Share Price		Expense Ratio*+
412.0p		1.05%
As at 31 March 2023		Six months ended 31 March 2023
As at 31 March 2022	520.0p	Six months ended 31 March 2022	1.06%
As at 30 September 2022	410.0p	Year ended 30 September 2022	1.06%

A History and Track Record of More Than 20 Years

for most investors.

Our NAV has grown over through multiple market cycles.

• APEO NAV per share (total return)*
• APEO share price (total return)*
• FTSE all share (total return)*

Source: abrdn, Refinitiv Eikon 31 March 2023.

(Note: past performance is not a guide to the future).

1,000

800

100)to 600

400(rebasedreturn

Total 200

0

• For definitions, please see Glossary on pages 52 and 53.

• Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on pages 50 and 51. + A Key Performance Indicator by which the performance of the Manager is measured by the Board.

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3

APEO Interim Report 2023

Our Pillars

The key pillars that have guided APEO for more than 22 years and differentiate us in our industry.

Access

Expertise

Focus

Consistency

APEO gives investors access to high quality private equity managers and private companies.

Making private equity an essential part of every portfolio. Private equity can be a challenging asset class to access and navigate. Our long- term market presence and local networks provide us with insights and relationships that, we believe, unlock some of the best opportunities for investment in private equity funds and co-investments, alongside our core private equity managers.

As an investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange, APEO offers shareholders an opportunity to invest in these private equity funds and co-investments for as little as the price of one share. As APEO's shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, they provide daily tradable access to an asset class which is normally relatively illiquid.

For more information, see

page 25 of our 2022 Annual Report

The Investment Management team has specialist knowledge in European markets.

The Investment Manager has a large and well established team of investment professionals. They have managed APEO for over 22 years, since its inception, and have generated consistent performance over that time.

The European private equity market is a complex investment arena, with multiple strategies and managers to choose from, not to mention the different cultural and technical nuances across the various countries. The Investment Manager's specialist expertise is a key asset in navigating these complexities and honing in on the best private equity managers, funds and co-investments for our shareholders.

For more information, see

page 27 of our 2022 Annual Report

APEO has a carefully selected portfolio of some of the best investments in mid-market private equity.

We also believe it is important to have conviction and to concentrate our firepower. We do this by selecting and focusing our capital with a group of a dozen or so leading buyout managers and partnering with them through primary and secondary investments in their funds and making direct co-investments alongside them in private companies.

We are principally focused on making investments in the mid-market buyout segment of the private equity market, providing exposure to private companies between €100m and €1bn in size. This part of the market is characterised by majority- owned, profitable and cash generative private companies, where multiple avenues remain for private equity managers to accelerate growth and create further investment value.

For more information, see

page 29 of our 2022 Annual Report

APEO has a history and track record of more than two decades.

We take a rigorous and disciplined approach to investment analysis that delivers consistent long term investment returns across market cycles.

Private equity is often perceived to be a risky business, but our historic track record proves that steady NAV performance and consistent growth are possible. What's more, stability does not have to translate into reduced returns; our NAV has grown over ten times since launch.

For more information, see

page 31 of our 2022 Annual Report

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5

Chair's Statement

APEO Interim Report 2023

Alan Devine

Chair

"The results for the six months to 31 March 2023 show resilient NAV performance, with a NAV per share total return of 3.0% and net assets at £1,181.4 million.

Introduction

I am delighted to present APEO's Half-Yearly Report for the six months to 31 March 2023. The past six months have continued to be a challenging period in the global economy and financial markets, carrying on where we left off in the previous financial year. The war in Ukraine continues with no sign of resolution and the pace of interest rate rises, in order

to tackle the high levels of inflation in the global economy, has been unprecedented. We have seen the unintended consequences of these rate rises, most notably impacting US regional banks, creating a situation of even greater uncertainty.

Whilst I expect this challenging period still has some way to run yet, I gain

a great deal of confidence in APEO's NAV performance during the six months to 31 March 2023, in the face of this volatile backdrop. In addition, APEO's balance sheet was further strengthened through the increase of its revolving credit facility during the period. I continue to believe that APEO's focused and consistent strategy, tested over 22 years, and the quality and diversified nature of the existing portfolio will continue to position APEO well, in weathering short term challenges and in delivering longer term value growth.

ownership of the Manager, shareholders can be further assured that the Board would take all necessary steps to work with abrdn and the Manager to fully protect the ongoing interests of shareholders with the aid of suitable professional advice and appropriate due diligence.

This oversight of the Manager is a key part of the Board's responsibilities and is carried out through regular and direct contact between the Board and the various areas of the abrdn Private Equity team that contribute to the management of APEO. The Manager has managed the Company since inception and has delivered strong, consistent performance through multiple market cycles.

Investment Performance & Discount The results for the six months to

31 March 2023 show resilient NAV performance, with a NAV per share total return of 3.0% and net assets at £1,181.4 million. This performance is testament to APEO's core investment strategy, which has remained focused on partnering with a relatively small cohort of high-quality private equity firms, predominately in the European mid-market.

APEO's underlying portfolio of private companies is made up of businesses that are often amongst the market leaders in resilient sub-sectors and are profitable and cash generative. On the whole, these businesses have continued to grow in spite of the more difficult market conditions. For example, the top 50 portfolio companies by value in APEO, which equate to 41.1% of portfolio NAV, experienced average earning growth over the last twelve-month ("LTM") of 29.7% at 31 March 2023.

Despite this NAV growth and portfolio performance, public market sentiment has remained lukewarm with respect to private equity investment trusts, including APEO, meaning that the wide share price discounts to NAV that we saw in the second half of 2022 have persisted into 2023. APEO's share price total return was 2.3% during the period but the share price discount to NAV at 31 March 2023 remained wide at 46.4%, with the discount ranging between 50.3% and 32.5% during the last six months. The share price total return underperformed the total return of 12.3% from the FTSE All-Share Index, its comparator index and we remain disappointed in the current rating of APEO.

However, it is also worth noting that APEO's share price total return has outperformed the FTSE All-Share Index over three, five and ten years, and since the Company's inception in 2001.

Much of the current sentiment around private equity centres on the underlying valuations, and NAV, and whether the valuations can be trusted in the current environment. In terms of APEO specifically, I would highlight the active role that the Manager, Board and Audit Committee play in terms of the governance of the valuation process. The vast majority of APEO's underlying portfolio companies are profitable, cash generative businesses that are subject to bottom-up revaluations every quarter. I am confident in the level of scrutiny that APEO's portfolio valuations receive.

I am conscious that some shareholders will be asking about share buybacks in the face of our wide discount to NAV. I would highlight that the Board does not have a stated discount control policy, but the Board, the Manager and our Corporate Broker monitor the discount on a regular basis to ensure that APEO is not an outlier when compared to other investment companies with a similar investment approach and shareholder structure.

This performance is testament to APEO's core investment strategy, which has remained focused on partnering with a relatively small cohort of high-quality private equity firms, predominately in the European mid-market."

6

Manager Update

Shareholders may be aware of media articles in recent months claiming that abrdn is looking at strategic options with respect to its Private Equity division. While abrdn has made no comment in response to such articles, shareholders should be assured that your Board has always maintained, and will continue to remain, in close discussion with senior management of abrdn and its Private Equity team to ensure the ongoing consistency of its approach and the allocation of appropriate resources

in fulfilling its role as Manager of APEO for the benefit of APEO's shareholders. In the event of a potential change in

• Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure. Further details can be found on pages 50 and 51. + A Key Performance Indicator by which the performance of the Manager is measured by the Board.

3.0%	2.3%	£1,181.4m
NAV per share	share price	net assets
total return*+	total return*+

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