Private Equity Holding (PEH) has revealed that it had to write down 62% of its Sfr1.1bn (€720m) portfolio last year, pushing it to the brink of insolvency.

In its annual results, the Swiss stock exchange-listed company told shareholders: "The combination of declining valuations of portfolio investments, disproportionate commitments made in the past and unprecedented low levels of distributions, brought the company to the verge of illiquidity."