The global fund finance market remains resilient, with a
positive outlook particularly in the credit and distressed
opportunities market. Since the real impact of Covid-19 started to
become clear in March, banks have been supportive and willing to
lend to deal with any liquidity issues, and there have been no
widely known or public defaults by limited partners or material
fund distress.
We see new funds actively looking for financing, though, generally speaking, deals are taking longer to close and there has been an impact on financing terms including in respect of economics, tenure and covenants. On the lending side, borrower relationships are key with new names entering the creditor space, alongside an increase in alternative lender activity.
Asia - Key Trends & Themes
Regional managers with a strong track record are raising significantly larger funds and as such borrowing requirements are much larger, meaning more syndicated and club deals, larger bank groups and more banks entering the market. We are seeing a rise in ESG linked funds and opportunistic funds (either new or an upsize of an existing fund), sometimes with only one investor (where funds are looking for exposure to a particular private credit opportunity).
Trends include:
- Although fundraising is a key concern for managers, fund
raising has been relatively resilient – Asian managers appear
to be finding it easier to raise funds than European managers,
which is supported by data from the likes of PEI
- There is, however, consolidation. Managers with strong track
records are finding it easier to raise funds than new managers.
This is arguably a result of a flight to quality, but more likely
due to difficulties for investors and allocators completing CDD on
new managers (due to Covid and travel restrictions) – re-up
capital is easier to obtain
- Walkers Asia Private Equity Survey 2020 suggested an optimistic
view for 2021 – around 80% of respondents had a generally
optimistic with only 3% pessimistic
- Not such a noticeable trend in hybrid and NAV facilities as
reported in Europe and the US, though lots of discussions on the
subject
- Management lines continue to be seen, as well as an increased use
of uncommitted facilities
- Increases in pricing (following the global trend) but to note
from a traditionally lower starting point for subscription line
facilities
- Fees remain the most heavily negotiated terms when raising new
funds
Europe - Key Trends & Themes
The well-documented trend of non-bank lender activity continues, with lots of interest around NAV products (defensive and offensive), as well as management liquidity solutions such as preferred equity. Ireland saw a particular rise in waivers and amendments initially, and currently enjoying a notable rise in new money transactions.
Trends include:
- An increase in opportunistic funds being raised in Europe in
order to take advantage of current market conditions consequently
we are seeing an uptick in private credit, credit opportunity /
distressed investment and loan origination funds
- Strong relationship lending across Europe, therefore some
uncertainty around syndication seen initially, however markets have
since opened up
- In Ireland, due to the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and the
interest limitation rules (expected to be implemented January 2022)
we are seeing some managers accelerating the launch of products and
migrating to Ireland, some have moved existing strategies into an
ICAV or regulated structure
- Generally anticipating continued increase in activity for Q4 and
Q1 2021 as cash deployed and opportunities arise (including when
government support schemes are withdrawn), alongside more bespoke
financing solutions on offer to support funds and their portfolios
as needed
The US - Key Trends & Themes
There is still a good deal of activity in the market, however some deals are taking a little longer to reach completion than might normally be expected and it is not unusual for recent transactions to go quiet for a couple of months before pushing on to closing. Nevertheless, we are expecting a busy final quarter.
Trends include:
- Our fund formation teams remain very active with new fund
closings. The remediation registration process for Private Funds
and Mutual Funds was completed in August 2020 and was reflective of
a great effort by all relevant Cayman industry participants in
order to reach this milestone
- We are still seeing a full range of deals, including a steady
flow of new money subscription financings for larger more
established private equity funds and numerous amendments and
joinders to existing facilities for the purposes of (i) extending
the maturity, (ii) incorporating Private Funds Law covenants and /
or (iii) incorporating benchmark replacement language
- Private Funds Law related conditions and covenants have become a
key Cayman law focal point for many of the major lenders that we
work with in the subscription financing market, and we are still
seeing a variety of different approaches being adopted, by both
lenders and funds, to address compliance
- We have seen a number of new lender entrants into the
subscription financing market over the last 12 months and increased
activity levels from certain existing participants. We are seeing
non-lender activity in the NAV facility space. Debt commitment
backed transactions have also been popping up with increasing
frequency over the last 12 months
- We continue to see and act on a number of financings where the
management entity / general partner is incurring leverage (rather
than the underlying fund(s)) and securing its rights to fees and /
or distributions from the fund
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