BlueBay reaches €800m final close for Direct Lending Fund

Alice Murray
22 May 2013

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BlueBay Asset Management has held a final close for its Direct Lending Fund after exceeding its initial тЌ500m target.

The fund, raised after just a year on the road, aims to provide predominantly senior and subordinated loans for acquisitions, capital growth, restructuring and liquidity situations. The vehicle has already deployed 20% of its capital in a number of deals.

This week's close follows a series of similar fundraising successes in the debt fund market. Rothschild held a first close on €235m for its Five Arrows Credit Solutions debt fund this month, while Idinvest reached a €205m interim close for its senior debt vehicle Idinvest Dette Senior in the same week.

Last year saw Partners Group hit €375m for its Private Markets Credit Strategies 2012 fund in September. The recent boom in debt funds highlights the increasing lack of available finance, particularly as new regulations, notably Basel III, come into play and create a funding gap – estimated by DLA Piper to be worth between €125-250bn.

BlueBay launched its private lending business in October 2011, designed to facilitate the flow of credit to SMEs in Europe.

BlueBay is a subsidiary of RBC and was established in 2001. It focuses on fixed income credit and alternative products. The company is based in London with offices in the US, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Japan, and manages more than $55.7bn of assets for institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

Investors
The fund received commitments from pension funds, insurance companies and family offices.

Investments
The vehicle will make investments of €20-100m in UK and northern European mid-market companies. It will target businesses with an enterprise value of less than €500m.

People
Anthony Fobel heads up the private lending division of BlueBay.