{"id":1540,"date":"2025-06-13T10:13:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T10:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/gb\/insights\/superreturn-international-2025-key-trends-in-private-credit\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T11:41:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T11:41:35","slug":"superreturn-international-2025-key-trends-in-private-credit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/gb\/insights\/superreturn-international-2025-key-trends-in-private-credit\/","title":{"rendered":"SuperReturn International 2025: Key trends in private credit"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"text-block standard-spacing  \">    <div class=\"container fade-in\">\n        <p><em>By Lindsey Stelter, Director, Funds<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Last week in Berlin, I had the opportunity to attend SuperReturn International, one of the largest gatherings of LPs and GPs globally, with over 6,000 participants. The credit-focused panel hosted by PitchBook offered rich perspectives on the current state of the market. Here are some standout takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>1. Liquidity is flowing, but selectively<\/h2>\n<p>Private credit markets remain awash with liquidity. In 2024 alone, the market saw 120 days of open fundraising windows, second only to the record-breaking year of 2021. Middle-market collateralised loan obligation (CLO) issuance in the U.S. hit an all-time high at $39 billion. Over the past five years, more than $125 billion has been raised for these structures, signalling a strong rebound from the COVID-era slowdown. Evergreen fund structures are gaining traction, offering managers and LPs a more adaptable route for long-term capital deployment.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Fundraising headwinds for smaller players<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the buoyant headlines, not all managers are feeling the lift. A staggering 84% of private debt capital in 2024 came from funds over $5 billion in size. LPs are prioritising track record, continuity and relationships, particularly those tested through prior downturns. For emerging managers and smaller shops, the fundraising environment remains highly competitive.<\/p>\n<h2>3. A clear shift toward larger deals<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s a noticeable pivot toward scale. Managers are increasingly targeting $1 billion-plus transactions, with several recent deals topping $2 billion. Large sponsors are leaning into private credit to finance sizeable buyouts, drawn by the certainty and speed that private markets can offer over syndicated debt.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Direct lending\u2019s steady grip on the market<\/h2>\n<p>Direct lenders continue to anchor the buyout landscape. In 2023, they financed 33% of all leveraged buyouts (LBOs) over $1 billion, and that momentum has carried into 2024. Appetite for broadly syndicated loans (BSLs) is resurging, especially for lower-rated credits, but nearly half of all large buyouts still rely on direct lending. The slower pace of M&amp;A post-2021 remains a challenge, but direct lending\u2019s resilience has been a stabilising force amid macro uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final thought:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The private credit ecosystem is evolving \u2013 fast. While established players scale up and flex their fundraising muscles, smaller managers face a tougher climb. Innovation, resilience and relationship capital will be the key differentiators in a market where capital is plentiful, but confidence must still be earned.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":1541,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"expertise":[17],"service_category":[],"class_list":["post-1540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SuperReturn International 2025: Key trends in private credit | IQ-EQ UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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