Finnish firm to launch €300 million European direct lending fund of funds
Finnish firm Certior Capital is set to raise a new fund of funds with a hard cap of €300 million, company officials confirm

AEW and Natixis AM raise another €100 million for real estate debt fund
AEW and Natixis Asset management, both affiliates of Natixis Global Asset Management, have completed a third closing of Senior European Loan Fund II (Self II) following commitments from institutional investors in France, Germany and Italy

European direct lender names former NatWest distressed analyst as partner
Proventus Capital Partners has named Vikas Nanda as a new investment director and partner focusing on direct debt

KKR's private credit fund fund targets Hong Kong and now South Korea
KKR has raised $301.1 million for its KKR Private Credit Opportunities Partners II (EEA) LP fund, which appears to be targeting Asia-based investors

Paris-based direct lender launches institutional fund with €300 million target
Paris-based direct lender Idinvest has announced the launch of new large-scale institutional fund that will lease industrial assets to SMEs

Direct lenders eye opportunities in Germany’s lower mid market
Direct lending in Germany may be about to flourish, with regulatory changes encouraging fund managers to step into what had been considered an over-banked market

Large insurers staff up for major expansion into direct lending
Large insurance companies are looking to take on the heavy-lifting of direct lending themselves 

Credit fundraising hits $11.1bn in September
$11.1 billion was raised for credit-orientated strategies in September, according to Creditflux’s fundraising tracker. Just over half of this ($5.6 billion) comes from direct lending funds

Investors prefer direct lending to CLOs
For the first time in the history of Creditflux’s credit allocator survey, investors have voted direct lending the best investment in credit. CLOs came joint second. By Michelle D’souza

How credit fraud could make a comeback
Easy credit leads inevitably to fraud, whether in consumer credit or corporate lending

EIB unveils €300 million lending programme for Irish business
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced a new €300 million long-term lending programme aimed at supporting mid-cap companies in Ireland

Local Pensions Partnership looks to go direct with £1.3 billion credit fund
The Local Pensions Partnership (LPP), which runs the pension schemes of two separate UK local government areas, has announced the launch of a £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) credit fund

London-based Signal raises €725 million for credit and real estate funds
London-based private asset management firm Signal Capital Partners has raised €725 million with an investment strategy targeting credit and real estate special situations

Direct lender opens warehouse ahead of unique European CLO launch
The union of direct lending and CLOs has moved a step closer in Europe, with a fund manager paving the way for the first direct lending securitisation of its kind

Bank of Ireland pair set to join PE firm's direct lending team, reports Debtwire
A budding direct lender is growing fast with two more hires from Bank of Ireland

Neuberger keeps up private credit momentum as it markets new fund
Neuberger Berman is marketing its latest private credit strategy, with the firm launching Neuerger Berman Private Debt Fund III

Insurance-affiliated manager hires from Pemberton for direct lending push
An asset manager with access to insurance company capital has hired the former UK & Ireland head of origination from Pemberton Asset Management

Canadian pension giant makes big hire for new European direct lending unit
Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) has made its move into European direct lending

Bridgepoint poaches ING leveraged finance star for new direct lending arm
Bridgepoint has hired an ING leveraged finance specialist to support its push into direct lending, sources say

GoldenTree partner joins Alcentra as co-chief investment officer in London
Vijay Rajguru, a partner at GoldenTree Asset Management, is joining Alcentra as its co-chief investment officer.

Debt communications firm Lucid launches trustee business with four hires
London-based debt issuer communications platform Lucid Issuer Services has made four senior hires and launched an agency and trustee services team

Muzinich opens shop in Dublin with aid of Irish private debt specialist
Muzinich & Co has opened a new office in Dublin, appointing an Irish private debt specialist from AIB

Chinese investment firm pushes into European credit with big hires
A Chinese global investment conglomorate is pushing into the leveraged loans, private debt and high yield space in Europe, and has hired two London-based leveraged finance specialists

CVC Credit appoints chairman as credit CIO steps down
CVC Credit Partners has today announced that Stephen Hickey will be leaving the firm for personal reasons. Joining the firm will be former JP Morgan leveraged finance head Hamish Buckland

Direct lender Beechbrook tots up 50th direct lending deal
London-based direct lending fund manager Beechbrook Capital has added two new investments, according to an announcement