Bridgepoint private credit grows by €1.4bn as group AUM doubles since IPO

Bridgepoint, the alternatives manager that invests in private equity, credit and infrastructure, has reported its private credit assets under management (AUM) increased to €13.8bn (£11.5bn) last year, as group AUM doubled since its IPO.

The private credit business was up from €12.4bn in 2023, showing growth of 11 per cent, according to its latest annual report.

Overall Bridgepoint’s AUM increased to $75.6bn (£58.3bn), up from $44.7bn in 2023. It now stands at 2.3 times the level at the time of the IPO, with the largest contribution over the last 12 months coming from the acquisition of infrastructure investor ECP.

Giving an update on the credit portfolio, BDL III, Bridgepoint’s third direct lending fund, which was closed in 2023 with investable capital of more than €3.4bn, “is 88 per cent committed”, the asset manager said.

The fund has an average loan-to-value of 35 per cent and an average EBITDA margin of approximately 30 per cent, it added.

Meanwhile BCO IV, the Bridgepoint credit opportunities fund, remains on track to meet its target of 13-15 per cent returns, according to the asset manager.

In a recap on fundraising, Bridgepoint’s credit business continued to make progress across its direct lending, syndicated debt and credit opportunities strategies in 2024 and into this year.

Direct lending fund BDL IV held a first close in early January 2025 at €1.9bn. The business also successfully priced the upsizing and refinancing of collateralized loan obligation fund CLO 4, originally priced in December 2022, increasing it by 40 per cent from €320m to €450m and reducing the cost of capital.

Additionally, two new CLOs – CLO 6 and CLO 7 – were priced in 2024 and external capital was also raised for the first CLO originator partnership, enabling continued growth while reducing reliance on the Bridgepoint’s balance sheet.

Fundraising for CLO 8 will begin this year, Bridgepoint said, “reinforcing the team’s ability to deliver diverse opportunities for credit investors”.

“The credit team has continued to achieve the performance, resilience and value that our credit strategies are known for,” Raoul Hughes, Bridgepoint’s chief executive, said.