Molly Dugdale, production manager of Private Credit Connect: London sheds light on why leading debt capital market event organiser, Invisso, is launching the much talked about Private Credit Connect: London this March.
Last year we partnered with Ares to create a Private Credit Summit at our flagship Global ABS conference – the response was overwhelming. A packed room, top credit funds on stage and so many questions!
It became clear that the private credit world wanted a flagship European event of its own that combines direct lending, ABF and fund finance. A dedicated event that connects the whole ecosystem from the issuer to the credit fund to the end investor.
So, we recruited the top funds to our board (including Hayfin, Pemberton, Tikehau, KKR, AB Carval and Bain), dug into what really mattered for the European private credit community, and together with our partners Ares and ELFA, brought Private Credit Connect: London into being.
Q: You launched the US sister event last year, how does the European market compare so far?
A: That’s right- Private Credit Connect: East united 500 US private credit names in Miami last October.
Given the US market is significantly larger than the European market, we were expecting a slower start but we couldn’t have been more wrong. The European credit fund community has been amazingly supportive demonstrating that it’s a hugely dynamic market keen for a meeting point to share experiences, knowledge and do deals.
One key difference we have seen is that there is more end investor interest to understand the private credit landscape and how best to access it in Europe. For European investors, it is both about building intelligence and connections.
Q: What are the big themes everyone’s talking to you about?
A: I’m a bit of a research geek so could write pages on this but I only have 500 words so I will distil it into 3 key points instead…
- The rise of ABF – how credit funds are now appealing to all issuers ranging from speciality finance to those used to the BSL market;
- LPs are busy refining what makes an attractive credit fund- multi-vintage, multi-product, evergreen are all being evaluated;
- Bank/credit fund ‘co-opetition’ – redrawing what makes a bank/fund relationship thrive and endure in this evolving market.
Q: Finally, tell us a bit more about Invisso
A: Invisso is a tight-knit team of 35 focused on delivering debt capital market events. We were formed by the coming together of Euromoney Conferences and IMN Structured Finance.
Global ABS and ABS East each convene over 5,000 structured credit professionals enabling our customers to do over 100,000 meetings in just 72 hours.
