Private credit secondaries forecast to hit $50bn

Private credit is set to increase its share of the fast-growing secondaries market, with deal volume expected to reach $50bn (£36.9bn) in the next few years.

The broader secondaries market hit record volumes of more than $110bn in 2025, according to HarbourVest Partners data, a 25 per cent year-on-year rise.

Although private credit secondaries remain a small part of that market today, they are growing rapidly according to those in the sector.

Josh Shipley, head of European private credit at PGIM, expects significant growth in private credit secondaries and expects deal volume to exceed $50bn within the next two to three years.

This is being driven by an evolution of the broader private credit space, as well as limited partners (LPs) seeking liquidity, he said.

“As the private credit market has grown exponentially over the past 15 years, the emergence of a robust secondary market is becoming a vital source of liquidity in what has traditionally been a less liquid space,” said Shipley. “With private credit funds maturing and realisation cycles extending, we’re finding both limited and general partners are increasingly seeking flexible portfolio solutions and turning to the secondary market.”

Michael Aldridge, global head of LP portfolio analytics at Carta agreed that one of the main drivers of this trend is liquidity, from both a seller’s and a buyer’s perspective.

“It is a liquidity driven market, and I think it speaks to the theme of increasing LP sophistication,” Aldridge said.

However, Andrew Dillon, head of funds, commercial Europe and Middle East at Vistra Fund Solutions, cautioned whether credit secondaries will see the same spike in volumes as venture capital and equity secondaries.

Looking at private credit, he questioned whether there is the same need for secondaries, given the very specific loan cycles of funds and the rise of evergreen vehicles.