Ares Administration was essentially the most lively participant within the European direct lending market final 12 months, with 84 offers and a 6.4 per cent market share, in line with new rankings printed at the moment.
Information from Octus discovered that Eurazeo got here in second with 57 offers and a 4.3 per cent market share, adopted by Goldman Sachs Non-public Credit score with 55 offers and a 4.2 market share.
When contemplating non-corporate services reminiscent of actual property, the trio additionally led the general wider rankings for direct lenders with marginally adjusted market shares of 6.2 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively.
Learn extra: Ares raises report €30bn for European direct lending fund
Goldman Sachs Non-public Credit score was essentially the most lively lender for offers over €250m, adopted by Blackstone Credit score. Arcmont, CVC Credit score, and Park Sq. all ranked joint third.
For offers beneath €250m, Ares took the highest spot, adopted by Eurazeo and Barings Non-public Debt.
The highest three companies for ESG-compliant offers – Ares, Eurazeo, and Pemberton – held their positions from the earlier quarter.
Deal exercise hits report excessive
The European direct lending market remained resilient final 12 months regardless of macroeconomic challenges, Octus’ information discovered, with the variety of offers up by a 3rd to 937 – a report excessive.
Deal exercise steadily picked up through the 12 months, with essentially the most exercise going down within the fourth quarter with 296 offers.
Nevertheless, Octus stated that 2024 offers had been skewed in direction of add-ons as non-public credit score confronted elevated competitors from the broadly syndicated market.
Learn extra: Moody’s suggestions non-public credit score marketplace for $3tn development
Common pricing on direct lending offers tightened quarter-on-quarter to a mean of 523 bps above the reference price within the fourth quarter of 2024, whereas leverage crept as much as a excessive of 6.8x in the identical interval.
Bolt-on acquisitions had been the preferred use of proceeds final 12 months, equating to a 34.6 per cent share of the market. This was adopted by buyouts (32.4 per cent) and refinancings (16.6 per cent).
The UK and Eire remained the most important direct lending market in Europe with a 31.5 per cent share, adopted by France and southern Europe.
Learn extra: What does 2025 have in retailer for the non-public credit score markets?
