Alternative credit specialist NorthWall Capital has hired Permira Credit’s Andrew Lawson as head of capital markets and collateralised loan obligation (CLO) business.

In his new role, Lawson will lead capital markets, structuring, distribution and investor engagement for the CLO platform.

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Fabian Chrobog, founder and chief investment officer of NorthWall, called Lawson’s appointment an “important step” in the development of its European CLO management strategy, which will see the firm’s established corporate credit platform extend into the public leveraged loan market.

The strategy will sit alongside NorthWall’s existing strategies, including credit opportunities, senior lending, asset-backed opportunities and legal assets.

It will operate within the firm’s investment governance framework, with Chrobog chairing the CLO investment committee, alongside founding partner and portfolio manager Alexander Garnier.

Lawson joins from Permira Credit, where he spent eight years as part of the founding team that built its CLO programme.

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Before that, he spent 11 years at Citi as a director in markets, fixed income sales and trading, and has also held roles at Bank of Scotland and Lyceum Capital.

“We have spent nearly a decade building a deep underwriting franchise across European credit, and we see CLO management as a natural extension of our capabilities into the public leveraged loan market,” said Chrobog. “Andrew brings exceptional experience across CLOs, capital markets, structuring and investor engagement and we are delighted to welcome him to NorthWall as we continue to develop this strategy and expand the team.”

“A CLO business is a natural next step in NorthWall’s journey, so I am excited to join the firm and help build a differentiated capability rooted in NorthWall’s longstanding experience in European corporate credit,” added Lawson.

London-based NorthWall specialises in delivering private capital solutions to Western European counterparties and currently manages €3bn (£2.6bn) of assets in long-dated funds.

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