Bridgepoint has set up an evergreen direct lending fund in Luxembourg, according to regulatory filings, but unlike many other recent perpetual vehicles, this is not targeting individual investors.

The group has set up Bridgepoint Direct Lending Evergreen as an extension of its European strategy, and despite the vehicle being evergreen, it is not semi-liquid, Alternative Credit Investor understands.

It has been developed by the group in response to growing demand from institutional investors for evergreen solutions in private credit and is designed to let them have longer-term exposure to the asset class.

It gives investors a perpetual investment horizon but remains illiquid, as it will not be offering any redemptions.

As an extension of the group’s European direct lending strategy, this vehicle will also be focusing on providing senior secured loans to mid-market companies in the region, across sectors that are less vulnerable to economic and market cycles. Bridgepoint typically invests in sponsor-backed businesses.

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The launch of evergreen private credit funds for institutions is a growing trend in private markets, with BNP Paribas Securities Services recently describing these as “run-off” evergreen funds in a paper.

In these vehicles, investors can add commitments on a continuous basis, capital is drawn periodically and deployed into a private credit portfolio. Income is through periodic distributions or investors can elect to reinvest back into the fund. Although investors can submit redemption requests, these are not the same as in semi-liquid funds, because there are no discretionary liquidity windows.

Investors that reach the end of their investment period will run off in line with the usual mechanics of a closed-end fund.

These structures can redefine the general partner (GP) and limited partner (LP) relationship, according to BNP Paribas Securities Services, which noted: “GPs can develop longer-term partnerships with LPs through stable, sustained allocations. When structured effectively, these funds can lead to lower structural costs, as capital is compounded within a durable platform rather than repeatedly raised, deployed and wound down across successive vintages.”

Read more: Bridgepoint inks €5.1bn for direct lending amid European credit boom

UK-headquartered Bridgepoint has $97.3bn (£71.8bn) in assets in total, with approximately €20bn (£17.1bn) of that in credit across direct lending, credit opportunities and syndicated debt.

The manager closed its fourth direct lending fund (BDL IV) vintage with €5.1bn in capital, above its €4bn target, in August. At its final close, BDL IV was already over 40 per cent invested, having provided loans to over 20 mid-market companies across Europe.

“The European middle market remains one of the most attractive places to lend: home to Europe’s largest universe of companies, resilient and increasingly underserved by traditional banks,” said Andrew Konopelski, managing partner of Bridgepoint Credit, in its announcement on the final close of the fund. “European private credit is now pricing at levels that reflect that strength and depth, and with global capital rotating towards the region, we see that momentum continuing.”

Read more: Institutions seek new structures as wealth redemptions mount