Pictet Asset Management (Pictet), a firm with about £206bn in AUM, has announced the first closing of its European Direct Lending Fund, achieving its target of €200m, despite a challenging market environment.
Pictet European Direct Lending I is a newly launched Article 8 fund which focuses on lending to European lower mid-market private companies. The fund’s approach is to invest in mature businesses that have reached a crucial stage in their evolution and provide bespoke growth capital to allow them to reach the next milestone in their lifecycle.
The fund has already closed two transactions within the direct lending strategy. In September, Pictet European Direct Lending I provided debt financing to support the acquisition of French software company Liciel Environnement by Enersweet and, in August, growth financing to MLase AG, a German manufacturing business
