Investec adds to fund finance team

Investec has bolstered its fund finance team with the appointment of Mikael Busch, who joins from ICON Investments, the bank said in a statement.

Investec Specialist Bank’s fund finance team provides a range of financing services. These include portfolio lending (providing facilities secured against fund assets), optimising equity  (leverage to enhance returns and maximise the use of a fund’s equity), fund administration (bridging facilities for LP draw-downs or to smooth distributions to investors), GP financing (enabling managers to fund GP commitments or to provide working capital), and secondary leverage (bridge financing for secondary fund investments).

Busch will report to Simon Hamilton, global head of Investec Fund Finance, and will have a particular focus on developing the team’s offering to the secondary market.

Busch was head of European business development at alternative debt provider ICON Investments, where he focused on mid-market clients and led the firm’s origination efforts in Europe. Prior to ICON, he worked for Altima Partners as part of the core investment team for the firm’s Altima Situational Credit Fund. He began his career in leveraged finance working in London, Zurich and New York.

Global head Hamilton said in a statement: “Mikael is an extremely experienced financier and brings a wealth of lending, structuring and investment experience to the team. In what is an ever-changing environment for our clients, Mikael’s appointment reinforces our commitment to provide innovative funding structures to meet our client needs.”