Northleaf Capital Partners (Northleaf) has raised an additional USD4 billion in commitments over the past twelve months from North American, European and Asian investors.
As a result of recent fundraising across its three core private markets investment programmes, Northleaf has now raised more than USD18 billion in capital commitments and serves approximately 200 institutional investors globally. This growth demonstrates strong investor interest in the firm’s innovative, mid-market private equity, private credit and infrastructure strategies, long-standing responsible investment framework and well-established track record.
“We continue to see strong demand for our mid-market global private markets strategies and are actively working with investors to identify opportunities to generate long-term value for them and the beneficiaries they represent,” says Stuart Waugh, Managing Partner at Northleaf. “With support from existing and new investors, Northleaf has generated significant growth across all aspects of our platform.”
Northleaf recently held the final closing for its second closed-end global private credit fund and a related separately managed account, raising more than USD900 million to invest across the capital structure in performing loans to mid-market private companies. The firm also held the final closing for its third closed-end OECD-focused mid-market infrastructure fund at USD1.4 billion, exceeding its original target fund size. In October 2020, Northleaf established a strategic partnership with Mackenzie Investments and Great-West Lifeco which extended the reach of the firm’s investment platform to high-net-worth investors and insurance solutions clients and has contributed to Northleaf’s fundraising momentum.
Building on the success of its innovative open-end senior private credit fund (NSPC) which has raised more than USD1.2 billion since its launch in late 2018, Northleaf recently partnered with new and existing investors to launch Northleaf Essential Infrastructure Fund (NEIF), a new, USD800 million open-end infrastructure investment fund. NEIF is building a diversified and growing portfolio of mature mid-market infrastructure investments with stable, long-term cash flows and lower risk profiles. NEIF seeks to provide investors with diversification across geography and subsector, with a focus on contracted and regulated revenue frameworks. Both NSPC and NEIF offer enhanced liquidity options compared to traditional closed-end fund structures.
Northleaf has continued to grow its global team, hiring additional investment team members in Canada, the US and the UK to serve the needs of investors and further enhance its local presence in key markets. The firm recently announced the appointment of Shane Feeney as Managing Director, Global Head of Secondaries, to lead and expand its well-established global secondaries investment program. Prior to joining Northleaf, Feeney served as Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Private Equity at CPP Investments. In addition, Northleaf has expanded its senior business development team on the ground in the US and Australia with the appointment of Sarah Silverman as Managing Director, Business Development (US) and Chris O’Connor as Managing Director, Business Development (Australia & New Zealand). Northleaf also plans to add new offices in other key markets in 2022.
“The continued expansion of our global team and office network reflects the fact that we believe that it is important to have expertise on the ground in our key markets to meet the needs of our investors, portfolio companies and transaction partners, as interest and demand in our mid-market strategies continue to grow,” adds Waugh.
