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Europe’s direct lending (or private debt) market continues to flourish as M&A activity picks up and small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) look for alternative financing, beyond the banks, to support future expansion and R&D. The region mirrors what has happened in the US over past decades where non-banking, institutional sources of financing have long prevailed. Around 70 to 80 per cent of corporate America is financed this way.
Whilst it still lags a fair way behind the United States, Europe, and more specifically the UK, is on a clear growth trajectory.
Since 2012, European direct-lending loan volumes have surged 120
Since 2012, European direct-lending loan volumes have surged 120 per cent year-on-year, with an estimated 86 funds raising more than GBP50 billion.1 As Preqin noted in its Q2 2017 private debt report2, Europe had a total of USD39.1 billion of targeted capital.
This is encouraging news but there are reasons to be cautious, with some direct lending managers concerned by the rise of covenant lite deals and a perceived willingness to engage in risky lending activities to corporate Europe.
One of those managers is BlueBay Asset Management, one of the pioneers of direct lending who raised in excess of EUR3 billion
Progressio SGR has successfully added Ifap to the Garda Plast platform it acquired eight months ago.
Garda Plast is a leading player in Italy for the production of preforms in PET for mineral water, soft drinks and detergents.
Ifap was founded in 1959 by the Bruseschi family and is based in Palmanova (UD). The company is active in the production of preforms in PET (detergent & dairy industries), bottle blowing and the production of caps for the pharmaceutical industry.
Garda Plast will continue to strengthen its market position by expanding into adjacent segments of the industry through organic
Koger has enhanced its compliance technology to provide a comprehensive tool for financial crime prevention. The company’s KURE software handles all aspects of Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Client (AML/KYC) due diligence, as well as complete Customer Lifecycle Management (CLM).
Koger provides software for investor services, compliance and business process management, serving global financial institutions, banks and asset managers including hedge funds, private equity funds and mutual funds. The company’s technology supports more than 8,000 funds with USD2 trillion in assets.
The software is built on three interrelated states of compliance – onboarding, due diligence and off-boarding – and
Private equity and real estate fund administrator Augentius has appointed Jimmy Leong as Managing Director, Augentius Asia, to drive business growth in line with increasing opportunities in the far east.
Working out of Augentius’ Singapore office, Leong will be responsible for developing both new and existing client relationships to support business expansion and further solidify the company’s reputation for expert fund administration throughout this region.
Leong says: “The growth in Asian private equity remains highly optimistic as the landscape is set to undergo major transformations, driven by the rise of international and Asian managers capitalising on China’s new regulatory structure. Augentius is well positioned to benefit from these opportunities and to establish itself as the leading service
Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners, is investing GBP250,000 in tech company GradTouch, a platform that connects graduates and employers, and aims to offer a cost-effective, unique solution for attracting, vetting and hiring graduates.
The investment, made on behalf of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), will increase the number of jobs by 50 per cent in GradTouch’s Manchester office and will further support the company’s growth plans.
Based in central Manchester, GradTouch provides the complete end-to-end solution for SMEs wanting to attract, assess and ultimately hire graduates. Its platform offers businesses time and efficiency savings, as
OppenheimerFunds has partnered with the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association to develop specialised alternative investment training for the firm’s client engagement teams and further serve the needs of high net worth (HNW) clients.
In October 2017, OppenheimerFunds announced a joint venture with The Carlyle Group to provide global private credit solutions and deliver long-term income capabilities to HNW investors. The specialised alternative investment training from CAIA will be its first comprehensive program to include private credit focused education and will be made available to OppenheimerFunds consultants serving HNW teams as part of the joint venture initiative.
“Bringing the highest
Middle market investment bank Harris Williams & Co has provided strategic advice to gaming backend development platform GameSparks on its sale to Amazon.com.
Advisory services were provided by Thierry Monjauze and Mathew Tsui of Harris Williams & Co.’s Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Group.
“Griff and the team have built a leading platform attracting many of the top names across the gaming sector,” says Thierry Monjauze, a managing director at Harris Williams & Co. “It was a great pleasure working with such a cutting edge and innovative company and there is no doubt Amazon will benefit greatly from the
Highview Capital (Highview), a Los Angeles-based opportunistic private equity investment vehicle, has added Tyler Kavanaugh and Zepher Loesch, to its Business Development team, which is led by Brice Baradel.
Baradel, Kavanaugh and Loesch will drive Highview’s transaction sourcing efforts and cultivate relationships with key intermediaries, corporate sellers, and business owners. The announcement comes after the first expansion of Highview’s investment team in November 2016 and the launch of Highview’s inaugural USD500 million evergreen fund in October 2016.
Ryan McCarthy, Founder and Senior Portfolio Manager of Highview, says: “As Highview continues to expand our market position, this is a natural
Campbell Lutyens, a global alternative asset advisor, has appointed Heidi Crebo-Rediker to its Global Advisory Board.
Crebo-Rediker, an American citizen, brings a wealth of experience in both government and the private sector. She is the Chief Executive Officer of International Capital Strategies, as well as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, Crebo-Rediker served as the State Department’s first Chief Economist, an Assistant Secretary level position, where she provided advice and analysis to the Secretary on a wide range of foreign policy issues having a significant economic, market or financial component. Prior to this, she was
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