London, 18 August 2023 – Hayfin Capital Management (“Hayfin”), a leading alternative asset management firm, today announces that it has attracted capital commitments in excess of its €6 billion target for Hayfin Direct Lending Fund IV. The successful fundraise comprised the commingled Fund IV, which has reached a final close, and certain related investment vehicles. Hayfin expects total available capital to be at or near the strategy’s hard cap of €7 billion by the end of the year. 

Through its Direct Lending strategy, Hayfin originates, structures and invests in performing senior-secured loans, primarily to European middle-market and upper-middle-market companies, with an emphasis on downside protection. Investing throughout the credit cycle, Hayfin self-originates primary investment opportunities through its local sourcing teams across 12 offices globally and its sector-specialist teams, as well as opportunistically acquiring attractively priced senior loans in the secondary market. With banks reducing their risk appetite and new issuance levels in the leveraged finance market remaining weak since early 2022, Hayfin believes Fund IV is well-positioned to meet substantial demand for private credit solutions and to continue to invest in high-quality borrowers on attractive terms. 

This latest fundraise attracted capital commitments from a broad range of institutional investors globally, including both new and existing LPs, comprising public and private pension funds, financial institutions, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, funds of funds, endowments, consultants and family offices. It represents Hayfin’s record fundraise for its flagship private credit strategy and the firm’s largest capital-raise to date, exceeding the c. €5 billion raised for the previous vintage of the Direct Lending strategy in 2020. 

Tim Flynn, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Hayfin, commented: “We are delighted to have achieved this successful fundraise for the latest vintage of our Direct Lending strategy against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop. Our investors have signalled their strong belief in our well-resourced and specialist team, our diverse origination model and our robust track record of disciplined lending and capital preservation, and we are grateful for their continued trust. 

“Hayfin was founded in 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, which saw traditional banks’ appetite for corporate lending recede sharply. The recent market dislocation and the sluggish recovery of the leveraged finance market presents another attractive environment for Hayfin to deploy capital into both mid-market and upper-mid-market financings. We believe that we remain well positioned to meet borrowers’ demand for private credit solutions on terms that offer strong risk-adjusted returns to our clients.”

Hayfin was advised on the fundraise by Macfarlanes.

Since it was founded in 2009, Hayfin has invested over €35 billion of capital across more than 470 portfolio companies via its private credit strategies.

Hayfin today announces the continued growth of its client coverage expertise through the appointment of Steve Bringardner, CFA, as Head of Consultant Relations within the Partner Solutions team. Steve will be based Chicago.

The expansion of the Partner Solutions team enables Hayfin to continue to strengthen relationships and meaningfully engage with its current and prospective investors to deeply understand their needs. Steve represents the most recent senior addition to Hayfin’s client coverage team, which now totals 25 highly experienced professionals globally, providing clients with tailored investment solutions within the alternatives space.

Steve joins Hayfin from BlackRock, where he spent over 12 years as Managing Director within the Global Consultant Relations team. Prior to this, Steve was a member of the team responsible for institutional client and consultant coverage at AllianceBernstein, based in Chicago. Steve brings over 15 years of experience in building relationships with investment consultants across public and private asset classes.

Alexander Wolfman, Global Head of Partner Solutions at Hayfin, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Steve to Hayfin. Consultant coverage represents an incredibly important investment channel for Hayfin and accounts for an ever-increasing share of our global investor base. Steve’s extensive relationships with a range of investment consultants and institutional investors globally will further strengthen our ability to communicate and offer thoughtful investment solutions to both existing and prospective clients.”

Steve Bringardner, CFA, Head of Consultant Relations in the Partner Solutions team at Hayfin, said: “I’m excited to be joining the Partner Solutions team at Hayfin. The firm stands apart from others in the industry due to its longstanding heritage of generating best-in-class returns for investors throughout market cycles. Hayfin’s innovative and dynamic approach in creating intelligent capital solutions, across the credit spectrum, has established a differentiated platform that aligns with our clients’ long-term objectives. I look forward to supporting Hayfin’s diverse relationship and investor base as we continue to grow the firm’s global footprint.”

Hayfin today announces the expansion of its client coverage capabilities in German-speaking Europe through the appointment of Marco Sedlmayr as Head of DACH within the Partner Solutions team. Marco will be based in Munich.

Marco joins Hayfin from Golding Capital Partners, where he spent five years as Managing Director and Head of Institutional Clients in Germany and Austria. Prior to this, Marco worked at Allianz Global Investors as Practice Leader in the DACH re-gion within the Insurance Business Development EMEA Group. Before this role, Marco was a Senior Business Development Manager at Crédit Agricole Group and J.P. Morgan.

This senior hire strengthens Hayfin’s proven ability to provide high-quality client ser-vice to its established investor base in the DACH region. It signals Hayfin’s contin-ued commitment to building a team that has a deep understanding of its clients’ needs and to delivering tailored, thoughtful investment solutions within the alterna-tives space for investors around the world.

Alexander Wolfman, Global Head of Partner Solutions at Hayfin, commented: “Last year we grew our AUM to over €29 billion, with our flagship private debt strategies accounting for two thirds of that. The DACH region has been an important part of Hayfin’s growth story and Marco’s appointment will help us maintain our high stand-ards of client coverage as we continue to grow the business within the region. With his extensive experience working with a range of institutional investors and breadth of relationships across German-speaking Europe, we are delighted to welcome him to Hayfin.”

Marco Sedlmayr, Head of DACH in the Partner Solutions team at Hayfin, said: “I’m excited to be joining Hayfin. The firm’s impressive private credit platform, in combi-nation with its continued growth and best-in-class returns for investors, distinguishes it as a leading player in the market. Now having local presence in Munich is a clear commitment to the German-speaking market and will help to strengthen our existing client relationships and further grow our business in the DACH region.”

Hayfin Capital Management today announces the pricing of Hayfin Emerald CLO X (“Emerald X”), a €450-million Collateralised Loan Obligation (“CLO”) and the tenth new-issue deal completed by Hayfin’s European CLO platform since August 2018. It follows the pricing of the €392.8m Hayfin Emerald IX CLO in March 2022.

Consistent with Hayfin’s previous European CLOs backed by broadly syndicated loans, Emerald X will invest in a diversified portfolio of European senior-secured loans and bonds. The structure once again attracted strong investor demand and was oversubscribed in all classes of notes.

Gina Germano, Portfolio Manager and Head of the European High-Yield & Syndicated Loans investment team, said: “It’s pleasing to have completed the tenth new issuance of our European platform which was established four years ago. The deal is testament to our team’s success in delivering a sustained period of excellent performance across our CLO portfolio on behalf of our investors.

“The strong demand for this deal following a period of challenging market conditions for new CLO prints underlines our status as one of Europe’s leading high-yield credit managers. Despite the mounting macroeconomic headwinds, including a rising interest rate environment and sustained inflationary pressures, we feel well placed to further differentiate ourselves through diligent credit selection, focus on research-driven processes and active portfolio management.”

Hayfin’s High-Yield & Syndicated Loans investment team won the High Yield Fund award at the 2021 AltCredit European Performance and Services Awards.

Jefferies acted as arranger for the transaction.

Hayfin today announces that it has successfully become a signatory to the FRC’s UK Stewardship Code 2020. The UK Stewardship Code sets a standard for best practice for asset managers investing on behalf of UK asset owners. Further details about the Code can be found on the Financial Reporting Council’s website here.

In Hayfin’s submission report, which can be read in full here, the firm articulates how it has invested over the course of the 12-month period ending 30th April 2021 in line with the 12 Principles set out for asset managers in the Code. Over this period, Hayfin continued to enhance its responsible investment efforts internally, prioritising improved disclosure of its responsible investment approach and outcomes, while listening to the requirements of its investors in guiding how it could best act as stewards of its clients’ assets.

Tim Flynn, CEO of Hayfin, said: “Whilst we are delighted to have gained signatory status, Hayfin is alive to the need to stay ahead of the ever-expanding needs of our clients in the areas of stewardship and responsible investing. We will continue to seek opportunities to strengthen our actions and policies wherever possible.”

Hayfin today announces the appointment of Marc Chowrimootoo as a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager within its private credit business. In this role, Marc will work closely with the investment team on sourcing and analysing investment opportunities, as well as portfolio management, across the firm’s private credit strategies.

Marc brings a wealth of experience in leveraged finance as well as long-established relationships within the European private equity community, complementing Hayfin’s deep origination and portfolio management capabilities and its sponsor relationships. Marc joins from Goldman Sachs, where he was a Managing Director in the European Leveraged Finance team based in Paris, leading its credit finance expansion in Europe. He has previously worked in similar roles for Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank and began his career as a banking and capital markets lawyer with White & Case.  Marc will be based in London while working closely with Hayfin’s local investment teams across Europe, operating out of offices in Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid.

Tim Flynn, CEO of Hayfin, said: “We are committed to equipping our private credit investment team with the best possible expertise, experience and local presence to operate a broad-based origination model that can identify and access the best investment opportunities across Europe. As the markets evolve in the post-pandemic period, we will benefit greatly from having Marc on board. He brings deep knowledge of the leveraged finance market and will further enhance our already strong relationships within the European sponsor community.”

Marc Chowrimootoo said: “Hayfin is a renowned and highly impressive private credit platform and the opportunity to be part of its continued growth and success across its strategies was a compelling one. I am looking forward to working with colleagues across Hayfin’s UK and Continental European offices to further expand and nurture the firm’s relationships with private equity sponsors and other borrowers, while supporting their focus on delivering best-in-class returns for our investors.”

Hayfin’s core private credit strategies comprise Direct Lending, through which Hayfin invests in performing loans to primarily European middle-market companies, and Special Opportunities, where it invests flexibly in a range of unique opportunities across industries, markets and sub-strategies in situations where financing may be scarce.

Hayfin today announces that it has exceeded its €2 billion target to invest via its Hayfin Special Opportunities Fund III. The successful fundraise comprises Fund III, which has reached a final close, and related separately managed accounts.

Hayfin employs a broad and flexible investment mandate through its Special Opportunities strategy, deploying capital into a range of unique opportunities across industries, markets, and sub-strategies in situations where financing may be scarce. The fundraise provides Hayfin with what the firm believes is the right amount of capital to invest in corporate and asset-backed opportunities arising from post-pandemic dislocation and related balance sheet restructurings.

Hayfin received capital commitments from a broad range of sophisticated institutional investors globally, including public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, consultants, financial institutions, and family offices. The fundraise extends Hayfin’s established franchise in special opportunities investments, having invested €9 billion across the strategy, inception to date.

Tim Flynn, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Hayfin, commented: “We continue to see a range of compelling deployment opportunities for our Special Opportunities strategy, offering attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors. Hayfin has always aspired to be students of the markets in which we invest. We are delighted to have successfully completed a fundraise that we believe is well-timed and right-sized to the market opportunity, while remaining sufficiently disciplined so as not to jeopardise our high underwriting standards.”

Since it was founded in 2009, Hayfin has invested approximately €28 billion of capital across more than 400 portfolio companies.

Hayfin today announces the pricing of Hayfin Emerald CLO VIII (“Emerald VIII”), a €403.7m European Collateralised Loan Obligation (“CLO”), extending the firm’s active pipeline of issuance since H2 2020. With five new issuances and four resets announced since July 2020, Hayfin’s European CLO platform now manages c.€3.5bn across its eight deals.

Emerald VIII is the latest Hayfin CLO to attract strong investor demand across the capital stack, with the AAA tranche achieving notably tight pricing of Euribor + 96bps. The top-quartile performance of its European CLOs continues to fuel new and existing investors’ interest in Hayfin-issued debt and equity, driving demand for a platform underpinned by a high-quality team and a credit process proven over the course of the Portfolio Manager’s 20-year-plus track record.

Gina Germano, Portfolio Manager and Head of the European High-Yield & Syndicated Loans investment team at Hayfin, said: “The past 18 months has witnessed a significant expansion of our European CLO platform into a leading European franchise. To have achieved that against the backdrop of Covid-19 is testament to the success of our investment team in maintaining the highest standards of credit selection and achieving down-market outperformance. We are delighted to have built and deepened relationships with a growing and diverse investor base and will continue to scale our platform.”

Goldman Sachs acted as arranger for the transaction.

Hayfin Capital Management today announces the continued expansion of its client coverage capabilities in North America through the appointments of Risa Lipsky and Chris Parisi as Managing Directors within its Business Development team in New York.

The two highly experienced hires will further enhance Hayfin’s proven ability to provide best-in-class solutions to its established and growing North American investor base. They represent the latest in a series of senior additions to Hayfin’s client coverage team in New York, following the appointments of Alexander Wolfman as Global Head of Business Development in 2020, Sarah Breiner as Head of Investor Relations in early 2021 and Maura English as Senior Product Specialist in mid-2021. With these hires, Hayfin continues to build a team that has deep experience understanding the needs of its clients and continuing to deliver tailored, thoughtful solutions within the alternatives space.

Risa Lipsky joins Hayfin from Atalaya Capital, a multi-billion-dollar private credit platform where she spent five years as Managing Director of Business Development and Investor Relations and was responsible for global fundraising activities with a focus on US institutional investors. Prior to this she worked at Golub Capital as Vice President of Business Development, taking responsibility for fundraising across a diverse range of credit strategies. Before this Risa was a member of the institutional sales team at AllianceBernstein.

Chris Parisi joins Hayfin from BlackRock where he worked for over seven years, most recently as Managing Director and Relationship Manager within the Financial Institutions Group. Before this he worked as Vice President, Relationship Manager within the insurance group of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. In total he brings over sixteen years’ experience working with a range of insurance asset management clients.

Alexander Wolfman, Global Head of Business Development at Hayfin, commented: “North America has always been an important market for Hayfin and it accounts for an ever-increasing share of our global investor base. We have been steadily building out our team in New York to maintain our high standards of client coverage and to support this growth. We are delighted to welcome Risa and Chris, whose extensive experience in working with a diverse range of North American institutional investors including pension plans, insurance companies and endowments will further enhance the solutions we can provide to both existing and prospective clients.”

Hayfin Capital Management today announces the appointment of Caoimhe Bain as Head of ESG, a new role that will bolster the firm’s well-established environmental, social and corporate (ESG) capabilities and coverage. Caoimhe joins Hayfin’s broader ESG leadership team with whom she will work closely to ensure that the firm’s embedded responsible investment practices are continuously reviewed and developed, as well as implemented across the business and its distinct strategy lines. Caoimhe will report to Andrew McCullagh, a member of Hayfin’s Management Committee, Investment Committee and ESG Committee.

Caoimhe brings over 10 years of experience in responsible investment having worked in a number of related roles within the asset management sector. She joins Hayfin from Hymans Robertson where she worked as a Responsible Investment Consultant in charge of the firm’s broad responsible investment policy and sustainable investment framework.

Andrew McCullagh, Management Committee member at Hayfin, commented: “Responsibility – incorporating all environmental, social and corporate issues – has long been embedded in Hayfin’s culture and is integral to our decision making. Enhancing our ESG capabilities with this new role will improve our management of risk, allow us to make more informed investment decisions, and will ultimately drive value for our investors. We’re very pleased to welcome Caoimhe to our team.”

Caoimhe Bain, Head of ESG at Hayfin, said: “I’m excited to join Hayfin, a leading asset manager that both culturally and in practice is committed to responsible investment as an inherent part of its strategy. I look forward to working closely with our ESG and Audit & Risk Committees, as well as the investment teams, to support the firm’s responsible investment efforts across the business lines.”