The European collateralised loan obligation (CLO) market recorded its highest-ever quarterly volume in the third quarter of this year, according to PitchBook LCD’s quarterly European credit markets report.
The financial data and research company said there was little evidence to suggest activity across new issues and resets will cool over the remaining months of this year.
“For one, liability demand remains strong at current levels, even driving some further but limited tightening,” the report states.
Pitchbook LCD’s assessment is consistent with other research indicating European CLO issuance is reaching record-highs this year.
Read more: More European private credit CLOs expected in 2025
Overall volume in the third quarter across new issues, resets and refinancings was roughly €36.4bn (£31.6bn) from 85 deals.
Of these deals, 39 were new-issue deals – resulting in the highest new-issue quarterly deal count on record.
Read more: PitchBook LCD: Private credit spreads tighten to 525bps
Meanwhile, July was the busiest month on record for CLO activity overall, with over half of new issuance – €8.9bn (£7.7bn) from 21 deals — taking place that month alone.
The average new-issue deal size in the third quarter circled around €427m (£370.8m), with year-to-date new issuance volume reaching €46.7bn (£40.5bn) deriving from 108 deals.
This is closing in on last year’s total new-issue volume of €48.4bn (£42bn), the report added.
