Fundraising

AlbaCore closes Fund II on €1.5bn

The London-based firm is also preparing to launch a CLO as it makes plans for an unpredictable year in the credit markets.

-

London-based European fund manager AlbaCore Capital Group has closed its second fund, AlbaCore Partners II, on €1.5 billion in total assets under management.

The fund has already been active, making investments amid a credit market sell-off in the fourth quarter of last year, and is expected to be approximately 60 percent invested at the end of this month.

AlbaCore focuses on bespoke private credit solutions for larger European companies and invests across the primary and secondary markets according to where it sees relative value. It has recently focused on the primary and private markets.

The firm recently acted as sole underwriter for subordinated debt related to two UK public-to-private deals: BCA Marketplace, the used vehicle marketplace, and Ei Group, the UK’s largest pub company.

In a statement, the firm said Fund II delivered a gross internal rate of return of 20.6 percent in 2019. It also said it has generated 870 basis points of alpha over European credit markets across its two funds since inception.

AlbaCore, which closed its debut fund on almost €1.5 billion in April 2018, has 32 staff across its London and Dublin offices, and invests on a “capital structure-agnostic” basis via senior secured loans, high-yield bonds, private debt and preferred equity.

The firm has not disclosed specific investors in its latest fund but said support had come from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, insurance companies, consultants and family offices across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.

AlbaCore also recently announced plans to launch a debut collateralised loan obligation in 2020, which is currently in the warehousing phase. It said that environmental, social and governance would be part of the CLO’s credit selection criteria.

Founded in 2016 and now managing €3.6 billion of assets under management, AlbaCore is headed by founder and chief investment officer, David Allen, who previously managed Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s European Principal Credit Fund.

“We have an active private market pipeline, and dry powder to be opportunistic as markets digest the recent UK election results and navigate what could be an unpredictable year leading up to the US elections in November,” said Allen.