Fund Managers

BlueBay targets €1bn for second direct lending fund

The credit specialist is seeking to raise double the amount it initially targeted for its first direct lending fund.

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London-based BlueBay Asset Management has launched a second direct lending fund targeting €1 billion, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Direct Lending Fund II is registered in Luxembourg and was set up in 2014. William Jones, Henry Kelly and Craig Tennier have been named as executive officers on the fund. Anthony Fobel, partner and head of private lending strategies, was also named on the filing, dated 18 December 2014.

BlueBay declined to comment.

The fund is BlueBay’s second European direct lending fund. In May 2013, BlueBay held a final close of €800 million on its Direct Lending Fund I exceeding an initial target of €500 million.

The fund received commitments from pension funds, insurance companies and family offices, according to a statement at the time, including a €175 million to €350 million commitment from sovereign wealth fund Ireland’s National Pension Reserve Fund. BlueBay’s Direct Lending Fund I was set up to provide between €20 million and €100 million in senior and subordinated loans to UK and Northern European companies with enterprise values of less than €500 million.

This month also marks one year since BlueBay’s direct lending fund announced a partnership with UK bank Barclays. Speaking to PDI shortly after the announcement in January 2014, Fobel explained that the growing popularity of unitranche facilities with borrowers and sponsors had helped spur the development with Barclays.

In a statement then, Fobel said: “By joining forces with Barclays, the [direct lending] fund can now additionally offer financial sponsors and UK businesses a customised solution that combines the flexibility, speed and execution certainty of a private debt fund.”

BlueBay Asset Management is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and part of RBC Global Asset Management. The firm manages more than $65.8 billion for institutions and high-net-worth individuals as of 30 September 2014, according to its website, and has offices in the US, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Japan.