Deerpath launches UK base amid push for European LPs

The firm is opening its first office in Europe to help it get closer to LPs as demand for US private credit grows.

New York-based private credit investor Deerpath Capital Management has opened an office in London to gain greater access to European LPs.

The Berkeley Square office will serve as its European headquarters as the firm says it is seeing growing interest from European institutions in the US mid-market credit.

“European investors like US mid-market credit as we have higher dealflow and they can get an increased yield for the same level of risk,” explains Antonella Napolitano, global head of investor relations and capital formation at Deerpath.

“But European investors also have their own set of needs compared to US LPs, including greater ESG demands, less leverage and a preference for local fund structures such as Luxembourg funds.”

She adds that the London office will enable the firm to improve dialogue with its European investors to better understand their needs. Deerpath has a number of investors in the UK and Europe including pension funds, family offices, insurance companies and asset managers. Its fifth fund was the first to feature a Luxembourg structure for European LPs and it also used a Luxembourg structure for its sixth fund, which is currently on the road.

The office will be led by Tania Kutner, head of European investor partnerships. Kutner joins from London-based placement agent Aerius Associates and has also held positions at Lloyds Investment and Commercial Banking where she worked in leveraged finance.

Deerpath typically funds US mid-market companies with an enterprise value of between $50 million and $150 million with a private equity sponsor.