Avenue Capital Group announced the successful final closing of the Avenue Europe Special Situations Fund V (Avenue Europe Fund). With separately managed accounts, over $1 billion of commitments have been raised for the Avenue Europe Fund from a broad range of existing and new investors, including public and corporate pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, and family offices.
Avenue Europe’s strategy is focused on providing senior secured, asset-backed loans to structurally underserved borrowers across Northern Europe. As traditional lenders have reduced their lending in certain market areas, alternative lenders with established capabilities have an attractive opportunity. The Avenue Europe team utilizes Avenue’s origination platforms and long-standing presence in Europe to generate a large volume of recurring lending opportunities in these market niches, which are generally less competitive and have high barriers to entry.
Avenue is an established investor in Europe. The firm launched its dedicated presence in the region in 2004 and has since deployed more than $26 billion in European special situations and credit investments. Now, its Europe team of investment professionals operates from a London headquarters and offices throughout the region, overseeing close to $4 billion in investments across a range of investment vehicles focused on Europe.
The Avenue Europe Fund has drawn over 50% of committed capital and is expected to commit within the next year fully.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are gratified to have received such strong support for the Avenue Europe Fund from our existing and new investment partners.”
- Marc Lasry, CEO and Co-Founder of Avenue Capital Group
“We are confident in our ability to deliver attractive and differentiated returns. Our pipeline of lending opportunities continues to significantly exceed our available capital.”
- Jon Ford, Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Avenue’s Europe Strategy
“The support from our investors will allow us to continue to target a compelling opportunity in European asset-backed lending. We look forward to growing the Avenue Europe business as we see an incredible number of opportunities in our area of expertise in the market.”
- Padraig Moore, Senior Portfolio Manager
