Madrid manager holds €50 million first close for sponsorless lending fund
Sponsorless investing proves popular with investors, as Trea holds a €50 million first close for its second direct lending fund - two months after launching 

Private debt impact funds demonstrate their value in emerging markets
Private debt is becoming an important channel for impact investing with over a third of impact investing AUM tied to private debt, according to a new survey

Ares emerges as favourite to take over troubled direct lending fund
Following Oaktree’s wind-down request, the board of the Ranger Direct Lending Fund has chosen Ares as replacement manager - moves which could see the fund change its focus from peer-to-peer loan investments to asset-backed loans

BNPP AM produces its own Novo loan fund to target French mid market firms
BNP Paribas Asset Management has launched a new business loan fund, BNP Paribas Novo 2018, backed by the French Insurance Federation and French public sector investment fund.  

Ares targets €4.5 billion for fourth European direct lending fund
Los Angeles based Ares Capital Management has launched its fourth European direct lending fund, Ares Capital Europe IV, with a €4.5 billion target size, SEC filings show

US pension fund backs ICG's global mid market offerings
London-based Intermediate Capital Group has won further commitments from US pension funds for middle market credit investing

Tikehau raises over €200 million for French loan fund
Paris-based Tikehau has launched its latest Novo fund, which is endorsed by the French Insurance Federation

Golding poaches BlueBay's Das to head private debt
Golding Capital Partners has expanded its private debt capabilities, hiring former BlueBay partner Abhik Das as private debt head and Florian Hofer as investment manager

Zencap looks to raise €200 million for its third infra debt fund
French alternative investment boutique Zencap Asset Management is launching its third senior infra debt fund with a €200 million first close target, the firm announced on Friday.

Market volatility will fuel demand for alternative credit, research suggests
The increase in market volatility will fuel demand for alternative credit over the next two years, according to research by Dutch asset manager NN Investment Partners NNIP.

Manager raises €300 million for agriculture-focused credit fund
Paris-headquartered fund manager Céréa Partenaire has held a €300 million first close for its second debt fund, less than seven months after fundraising began

Former BlueBay team raise €280 million for debut credit fund
Dublin-headquartered DunPort Capital Management has announced a close for its credit fund, Elm Corporate Credit fund, with €280 million capital commitments

M&G launches 'first of kind' multi-sector impact debt fund
M&G Investments has today launched a multisector positive impact private debt fund, which it claims is the first of its kind by a mainstream manager

German firm holds first close of direct lending fund at €300 million
Frankfurt-based Rantum Capital has launched a second subordinated loan fund, a direct lending strategy called Rantum Private Debt Fund II

Spain's Ahorro Corporación to push into direct lending amid ownership changes
Spanish brokerage and advisory firm Ahorro Corporación is planning to move into direct lending and has changed up its ownership structure, with StormHarbour's stake dropping from 90% to 40%

German bank launches €100 million digital infrastructure debt fund
Hamburg-headquartered private bank Berenberg has launched a €100 million digital infrastructure debt fund to invest in expansion of data networks in Europe

Seven credit and banking lawyers named at legal giants in UK, US and Germany
Global law firms including Baker McKenzie and Dentons have named new senior lawyers in a move to expand their banking, capital markets and corporate capabilities

AlbaCore closes debut direct lending fund at €1.5 billion
AlbaCore Capital has held a successful final close of its debut fund, AlbaCore Partners I, at €1.458 ($1.79) billion. The fund exceeded its €1 billion target, the firm announced on Thursday

Structured credit specialists seek future-proofing in direct lending
At the turn of the last credit cycle, structured credit recovered spectacularly – but credit managers today seem to be gravitating towards private credit as the area to pick up excess returns in a downturn

Patrimonium joins forces with Credit Suisse for unique private credit fund
Direct lender Patrimonium Asset Management has teamed up with Credit Suisse to launch a new fund that will invest in corporate loans

Know the best way to crack direct lending? Be a true ‘direct’ lender
Varagon's chief executive claims that there is a big difference between being a follower and a leader in direct lending

Calling all direct lenders: don’t do this…
Direct lending seems to be the hottest ticket in town, with middle market loan managers finding fundraising to be a cinch. However, several advisors have warned of the pitfalls managers should avoid when they pitch their funds to institutional investors

Direct lenders pile into "turbocharged" market as fundraising skyrockets: report
Growth in the direct lending market in the 12 months to 31 December was “turbocharged,” growing robustly in the fourth quarter 2017 in particular due to a consistently growing Eurozone economy, according to Deloitte

Former CEO of Ares Europe takes investment advisory role at Triton
The professional, who has also served at LCM Partners, has joined Triton as an investment advisory committee member

London direct lender hits $100 million in sales for direct lending fund
UK direct lending firm Prestige Funds has raised more than $100 million for its Luxembourg-domiciled direct lending fund, Commercial Finance Opportunities