Europe-focused funds’ share of private credit fundraising increased in 2025, as North America lost ground, according to the latest data from BlackRock and Preqin.
Having predicted last year that North America’s “grip” on the private credit industry would tighten, Preqin reported that Europe’s share of fundraising increased from 23 per cent in 2024 to 46 per cent in 2025, while North America’s share decreased.
North America-focused funds’ share of fundraising fell from 72 per cent to 51 per cent over the same period, as investors seek “greater geographical diversification to mitigate country-specific political risk”.
However, Preqin’s long-term forecasts for growth in assets under management (AUM) continue to favour North America.
Read more: BlackRock: Europe’s private credit market to double by 2030
The Preqin Private Credit Global report revealed that by the end of the third quarter, overall private credit fundraising reached $134.7bn (£100.4bn), compared with $197.1bn for full-year 2024, which means private credit is tracking at 68 per cent of last year’s full-year fundraising.
Preqin expects some “acceleration” towards the end of the year, given that aggregate private credit fundraising in the final quarter tends to be “larger than average”.
Its forecasts suggest that private credit fundraising will pick up in 2026, with capital raised over the year expected to exceed the 2025 full-year total by 20 per cent.
Read more: Fitch warns of “transmission risks” as European private credit market scales
According to Preqin, 61.5 per cent of capital raised in the first three quarters of 2025 is attributable to direct lending.
The latest figures showed distressed debt has gained share year on year, with 2025 its best year for fundraising since 2021, while special situations has overtaken distressed debt as the second-largest private credit strategy by AUM.
“This suggests a broadening of investor appetite, with many seeking to round out their private credit exposure in favour of an all-weather approach,” said RJ Joshua, head of private debt, research insights at Preqin.
The majority (81 per cent) of investors intend to maintain or increase their private credit allocations in the next 12 months, and 91 per cent over the long term, according to Preqin.
It found that investor appetite is shifting toward higher-yield strategies, as 54 per cent of investors see asset-backed lending as the most attractive emerging strategy.
“Overall, 2025 has been a year of consolidation and strategic evolution for private credit,” Joshua said.
“Looking ahead to 2026, private credit fundraising is expected to stabilise and resume growth, supported by ongoing structural shifts in the market and broader investor access,” he added.
Read more: Global alts AUM to hit $32tn by 2030
