Real assets are now the top picks in private credit
Direct lending is no longer the darling of the private credit market, with pension funds increasingly making space for credit strategies backed by real assets.

AlbaCore closes €1.5 billion direct lending fund nearly 60% deployed
AlbaCore Capital has deployed around 60% of its second direct lending fund, with the London-based manager closing the fund at €1.5 billion

European unitranche deal flow increased 11% last year, finds GCA
European direct lending unitranche deals completed in 2019 increased by 11%, according to GCA Altum's Q4 2019 MidCap Monitor, marking a record year for the industry 

Investors preferred real asset debt to corporate private debt in 2019, finds Bfinance
Bfinance stated that, in dollar terms, real asset debt searches conducted by investors outweighed corporate private debt searches in 2019

Amundi joins forces with French bank to launch midcap loan fund
Amundi has partnered with French bank LCL to launch a mid-cap direct lending fund - and the fund has collected €130 million on its first close, just over half its target size 

Banco Sabadell joins forces with Amundi
Banco Sabadell and Amundi have announced a long-term strategic partnership, in a bid to boost fund business in Spain  

EQT undertakes strategic review of credit business
EQT has announced a review of its credit business with the firm appointing JP Morgan to evaluate its 'strategic options', according to the firm’s Q4 2019 report

TPG makes European direct lending hire from Investec
TPG Sixth Street Partners has bolstered its UK and European direct lending opportunities team with a hire from Investec 

Advisory firm starts strategic review after credit specialist join M&G and Pictet
A London-based middle market advisory firm is undergoing a strategic review, according to market sources, shortly after it lost two partners to the buy side

Partners nears $100 billion in AUM as CLOs drive private debt growth
Swiss manager Partners Group has reached $94.1 billion in assets under management, with CLOs boosting the firm’s growth, according to its 2019 annual results  

ICG hires two for new mid market strategy after raising €1 billion
Intermediate Capital Group has made senior hires to help source deals and invest through a €1 billion middle market fund launched last year

Global mid market CLO league tables: Golub and Natixis lead by a distance
Golub Capital and Natixis dominated the mid market CLO space in 2019 in the manager and arranger league tables, respectively

Ares makes rare move by pulling out of private debt mandate
Greater London’s local government pension pool has lost one of its credit managers after Ares Management withdrew from its role as fund manager on an illiquid loan and private debt mandate  

Apollo fills gap in European direct lending team with senior hire from Alcentra
Apollo Global Management has filled a void in its European direct lending team by hiring Alcentra’s Natalia Tsitoura, according to market sources

BNP Paribas AM hits €345 million on first close of European SME debt fund
BNP Paribas Asset Management has attracted €345 million from 13 investors for its second European debt fund focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, marking the fund’s first close

Ex-CQS portfolio manager resurfaces at Axa IM
A former European leveraged loan portfolio manager who left CQS in July 2018 has resurfaced at Axa Investment Management

CDP commits to Italian private debt
Italian state-owned investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) has committed €40 million to a private debt fund managed by Anthilia Capital Partners

Private debt secondaries expected to soar in 2020
Private debt secondaries grew massively in 2019 — and more is expected this year.

Texas pension awards €100 million to European direct lending
Texas County and District Retirement System has allocated €100 million to a European direct lending fund managed by Metric Capital Partners

Alcentra plugs gaps as CIO leaves the firm
Alcentra’s chief investment officer has departed, with the firm splitting his responsibilities between its heads of European loans and US loans as co-CIOs 

BlackRock targets €2.5 billion as it completes first close on European mid-market fund
BlackRock European Middle Market Private Debt Fund II, having collected €1.5 billion at first close, is expected to hold a final close in the first half of next year at around €2.5 billion, according to market sources 

EIB confirms investment in European mid market CLO
The European Investment Bank has confirmed it invested €61 million in Alhambra SME Funding 2019-1 – the first European 2.0 CLO backed by middle market loans

West coast pension looks to step up direct lending allocations
The City of Fresno Retirement System will commit $140-160 million to private credit for the next two years, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux. This comes amid a pause in direct lending commitments for the pension fund, which has not committed any capital to this market in 2019

Italian journalists set for greater exposure to infrastructure debt
The pension fund for Italian journalists has launched a request for proposals in which it seeks exposure to infrastructure debt, along with infrastructure equity

SME CLOs arrive in Europe as Be-Spoke prices Spanish loan securitisation
Middle market CLOs have arrived in Europe after Be-Spoke Capital priced the continent’s first post-crisis SME loan securitisation