Park Square Capital raises €3.4bn for European direct lending strategy
Park Square Capital has raised €3.4bn (£2.9bn) for the final close of its latest European direct lending fund, a 50 per cent increase from the previous vintage.
The European Loan Partners II programme focuses on providing direct, senior secured and unitranche loans to European mid-market businesses.
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The strategy attracted commitments from a broad range of new and existing investors including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers and private wealth investors across Europe, the US and Asia.
The cornerstone of the European Loan Partners II programme is a joint venture between the alternative asset manager and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), which closed at €2.8bn, a 40 per cent increase over its predecessor fund.
The joint venture between Park Square and SMBC had made more than 50 deals since the first fund launched in 2017.
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“We would like to thank our investors for their strong support and confidence,” said Robin Doumar, managing partner at Park Square.
“There continues to be a significant pipeline of mid-market opportunities in the direct lending space in Europe, and we are primed to capitalise on our track record of supporting companies across market cycles and delivering attractive returns to investors.”
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Dan Matthews, head of EMEA leveraged finance at SMBC, added: “We are delighted to announce this new programme which furthers our successful partnership with Park Square. The two institutions have a well-established track record of working together to deliver a range of direct lending solutions for European mid-market companies.”
