Insights

Private debt, we believe, is more attractive than other private and public asset classes on a relative value basis.

We are seeing increased competition in the upper end of private debt markets (€200m+)

Despite concerns of rising populism in Europe and further afield, strong corporate earnings and a low default environment continue to be supportive for direct lending in Europe.

The positive market tone seen at the end of 2017 has continued during the first quarter of 2018 with the Eurozone GDP forecast at 0.6%1 for Q1, the same pace of growth as Q4 in 2017.

Dry powder – the amount of money raised by fund managers that has yet to be deployed – is an in-vogue topic.

Dry powder – the amount of money raised by fund managers that has yet to be deployed – is an in-vogue topic.

Credit structuring regimes across Europe have been undergoing significant reform. This has made them, on the whole, more flexible and more creditor-friendly.

We share some of our observations on the private debt market, and more specifically, some of the myths that we have encountered during our many discussions with investors over the past few years.

As a Private Debt Manager, most of our investments are privately negotiated and not readily tradable on an exchange and are therefore classified as ‘illiquid’ by investors.

We attended the one day Private Debt Summit in Berlin on Monday 25th February, and we have observations that are relevant to the European Direct Lending market.