Private debt funds close $90.8bn in H1
Private debt funds have closed $90.8bn in the first half of 2024, according to PitchBook data.
This is expected to mean private debt will match last year’s H1 total of $214.6bn, once all late closings have been reported.
The latest quarterly private capital index found that private capital overall – encompassing private equity, venture capital, real estate, real assets, private debt, funds of funds and secondaries – has raised $1,309bn over a one-year period.
Private debt funds have raised a total of $187.4bn, down 25.3 per cent year-on-year.
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The breakdown of private capital fundraising shows that only private equity raised more than private debt and was up 14.9 per cent year-on-year to $610.5bn, albeit from almost half the number of funds (-46.2 per cent).
Funds of funds saw the lowest fundraising total at $33.4bn, followed by real estate which saw fundraising drop 58 per cent over the last twelve months to $65.7bn.
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“2024 was expected to be a flat year for institutional fundraising in private debt, and this appears to be playing out. The strategy is coming off four consecutive years of $200bn-plus in capital raised globally, with the all-time peak of nearly $300bn coming in 2021,” said Tim Clarke, PitchBook lead analyst for private equity, private debt and M&A research.
He added: “Despite [a] slightly less favourable interest rate backdrop, a soft landing is a favourable scenario for private debt, and the asset class continues to deliver compelling risk-adjusted returns versus other more risky private and public market strategies.”
Read more: Private debt returned 9.2pc over last 12 months