Shetland Islands pension looks to terminate bonds and introduce direct lending
A UK pension fund is looking to terminate its bond mandate and introduce a 12.5% direct lending and 12.5% alternative funds asset allocation, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux

Former European Capital team raises $725 million for new direct lending fund
LGT Capital Partners has raised at least $725 million for a private debt fund, following the acquisition of private debt manager European Capital Partners from Ares Management in March last year

Italian bank completes SRT with European Investment Fund support
Banca Popolare di Bari has constructed a €174.5 million significant risk transfer (SRT) deal, which features a vertical risk sharing mechanism

KKR and Schroders back €1 billion Dutch direct lending fund
Neos, a Dutch direct lending firm, has held a €1 billion close on its Dutch and German direct lending joint venture

Institutional investors are too constrained in their private debt approach, research suggests
Institutional investors are too constrained in their approach and are focusing too much on mid-market corporate direct lending, research from global advisory firm Willis Towers Watson suggests

Hermes appoints head of direct lending in London
Hermes Investment Management has a new head of direct lending. The experienced official now reports into Hermes's head of private debt and CLOs, Patrick Marshall

London-based direct lender wins as San Francisco pension fund deploys into private credit
A Californian pension fund has mandated $60 million to a strategic credit fund, as part of its private debt pacing plan to deploy up to $750 million to private debt annually

Credit drives strong returns for five of the largest asset managers in the business
Carlyle is close to hitting its ambitious fundraising target; direct lending has been kind to Ares; and Och-Ziff has decided to shed its US CLO risk retention stakes after exiting its financing agreements

Dyal buys minority stake in another private credit manager
Following a minority stake acquisition in HPS last month, Neuberger's Dyal has now attained a stake in another New York based private credit manager

Spanish direct lender targets final close on debut fund
Spanish direct lender Resilience Partners is targeting a February 2019 final close for Resilience Partners Fund I, Creditflux has learnt

Star names join Barclays as it pushes into CLOs

Direct lenders express concern over proliferation of ‘adjusted ebitda’ terms

Beechbrook eyes sponsorless opportunities with new UK SME credit fund
London-headquartered Beechbrook Capital is looking to launch its second UK SME credit fund, Luxembourg filings reveal

Hermes’ novel fee structure sheds light on DL performance
Hermes Investment Management has taken a novel approach to direct lending fees, giving investors an insight into portfolio performance, which is something of a rarity in the direct lending market. 

No one wants to be middle of the road in mid market
The middle market is a vast space — so much so that it’s not enough to be described as a mid market lender

Italian pension fund seeks direct lending managers
Previndai, the €11bn pension fund for managers of industrial companies, has issued a notice seeking global and European direct lending managers

BlueArc brings in nearly $70 million for global private credit fund
At least 100 investors have backed the BlueArc Global Private Credit Opportunity Fund, managed by Atlanta-based BlueArc Capital 

KKR forms lending JV to target "clear need for UK mainstream housing development"
KKR and London-based Urban Exposure, a specialist residential development finance provider, have formed a strategic partnership and launched a lending joint venture to target significant opportunities in "mainstream housing throughout the UK”.  

Oaktree raises new special situations fund while CIO warns of direct lending risk
Oaktree Capital Management has released its second quarter 2018 results in which the Los Angeles-based firm reported $2.4 billion of new capital commitments in the quarter

Direct lender Green Arrow adds two strings to its bow with new funds
Green Arrow Capital, which recently acquired Italian private equity house Quadrivio, is nearing a final close for two funds, sources say.

ICG reports €4.8 billion of inflows over three months after direct lending success
Intermediate Capital Group has released its quarter end results - showing strong inflows and deployment

Ares launches "largest ever" European direct lending fund with up to €10 billion to invest
Ares Management has held the final close on what it claims to be the largest European direct lending fund raise ever

BNP Paribas AM launches UK SME direct lending fund
The new direct lending fund aims to disrupt a segment of the market that is underserved by asset managers and banks  

Investors eye alternative credit ahead of expected interest rate increase – report
Investments in alternative credit are set to rise among institutional investors over the next 12 months, according to an alternative credit report published by NN Investments Partners

BlackRock holds €1.1 billion final close for inaugural mid market fund
BlackRock has held a €1.1 billion close for its inaugural middle market private debt fund – exceeding its initial €750 million target.