ICG hires Avenue Capital’s Lockhead for direct lending role
Intermediate Capital Group has announced that it has hired Avenue Capital’s Peter Lockhead for its direct lending business in Europe

Muzinich hires from BlackRock to bolster its direct lending team
Muzinich has made another hire to its offices in Frankfurt with the firm announcing that Markus Taubert will be joining from BlackRock in July

BlueBay, Brightwood and Permira win private debt mandates
BlueBay Asset Management, Brightwood Capital Advisors and Permira Debt Management have been tasked with overseeing a London pension fund’s direct lending portfolio

JP Morgan credit specialist set to join large credit manager in London
An experienced banker is leaving the leveraged finance desk at JP Morgan ahead of a move to the buy side. He is set to be involved with his new employer's upcoming direct lending fund

Aviva adds two to its infrastructure debt team in London
Aviva Investors has announced two hires to its infrastructure debt platform

Direct lender Beechbrook makes strong start in ramping UK fund
Regulatory filings show that Beechbrook Capital has made a strong start in ramping up its debut UK direct lending fund

Direct lending shows signs of growth in continental Europe, finds Deloitte
Deloitte has released its latest Alternative Lender Deal Tracker report in which it highlights that 267 direct lending deals took place over the course of 2016 – an increase of 2% on 2015’s volumes

Credit manager bucks the trend by shifting into private equity
A host of private equity firms are planning direct lending funds, but one direct lender is moving in the opposite direction  

British Business Bank joins forces with Start Up Loans Company
The British Business Bank and the Start Up Loans Company are set to merge, according to a joint-statement issued yesterday. The former has supported a number of UK direct lending funds

Direct lending specialist tipped to join Permira in London
Market sources have told Creditflux that an experienced direct lender has left a large credit manager ahead of a move to Permira Debt Managers

Pension fund allocates £40 million to UK direct lending fund
Strathclyde Pension Fund has emerged as one of the investors in a new UK-focused direct lending fund

Investors don’t realise they’re buying junior loans, say direct lenders
Investors in direct lending funds are generally not aware that they are often buying junior positions, according to speakers at last month’s Creditflux Direct Lending conference in London

Pension funds line up to finance direct lending in wake of USS deal
Lending to direct lending funds is fast becoming a big business, with institutional investors now looking to take on the role of leverage provider

Deployment fees create risk, say direct lenders
The fee structure of European direct lending funds could force fund managers into buying unnecessarily risky loans