Eurazeo is launching a personal debt fund that shall be open to retail buyers within the second half of 2024.
The French funding group has been closely energetic within the personal debt area of late, with the asset class now accounting for greater than 20 per cent of its belongings below administration.
Agathe Bubbe, director, wealth options inside Eurazeo’s funding companions workforce, instructed Various Credit score Investor that the agency has “very sturdy ambitions for the brand new fund” which shall be much less diversified than its final retail providing.
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“We launched our first evergreen fund in France, this fund works effectively and we’re actually intent on creating on this sector,” she mentioned. “We’re launching one other long-term fund within the personal debt area within the second half of 2024.”
Bubbe mentioned that the primary fund was a mixture of hybrid belongings, comprising personal debt and secondaries, together with fairness investments, and attracted a whole lot of curiosity all through Europe and globally.
“We have been a pioneer in Europe after we first launched the fund in 2018 and we thought it was crucial to have that blend of technique as a result of market surroundings and diversification,” she added. “Nonetheless, as Eurazeo grew we now handle greater than €7bn of personal debt, specialised within the decrease mid-market area. We imagine that we now have sufficient diversification, deal stream and alternatives, whereas the present market surroundings permits us to be assured in launching a brand new fund.”
Bubbe declined to present a fundraising goal for the brand new fund however famous that the agency’s final personal debt programme raised €1bn (£854,000) from personal purchasers throughout Europe, “regardless of sturdy regulatory protectionism beforehand for retail entry to personal debt”.
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The personal debt market has attracted a flurry of capital in recent times, as personal fairness homes and asset managers faucet into the sector looking for yield in a high-interest-rate surroundings.
This has resulted in intensifying competitors for offers, however Bubbe mentioned that Eurazeo is effectively positioned to reap the benefits of alternatives within the decrease mid-market phase.
“We now have a really sturdy deal stream, complemented by our positioning within the decrease mid-market phase, with very sturdy deployment capabilities, our historic relationships with GPs in Europe and superb relations with firms we’ve financed up to now,” she mentioned.
Final November, Eurazeo closed its sixth direct lending fund, elevating €2.3bn in capital, surpassing its preliminary goal of €2bn.
The fund raised €900m from retail buyers, taking the whole scale of the group’s personal debt programme to €3.2bn.
