Single-asset GP-led transactions have emerged as a core exit route, matching IPO volumes and offering investors access to high-performing assets. Innovative structures such as continuation vehicles, co-control partnerships and “CV squared” deals are reshaping the market, while lead buyers increasingly secure premium opportunities.
Explore how these key trends are driving this evolution and why they matter for investors focused on long-term value.
- Single-asset GP-led structures firmly established as “fourth” exit route in sponsor toolbox as the nature of “secondaries” evolves
GP-led secondaries have exceeded 10% of global sponsor-backed exit activity in 2023 and 2024 and are now comparable in capital volume to sponsor-backed IPO activity.[1],[2]
This growing prominence within the GP toolbox is not incidental. We believe that single-asset GP-leds specifically are fundamental departure from the traditional concept that secondary deals need to offer a “liquidity” solution. Our experience in the last seven years indicates that GP-led structures, if done with the right rationale, are driven by the desire to keep compounding returns of star assets that are difficult to identify and originate in an increasingly competitive primary buyout market.
Our view – “secondaries by name, but not by nature” – is based on a few fundamental differences between traditional secondaries and single-asset GP-led solutions.
The traditional perception of secondaries links to a few core characteristics, namely:
(i) a main goal of generating high velocity deployment (and return) of capital with returns below those achievable by a direct buyout strategy,
(ii) highly diversified exposure (with tens to hundreds of companies acquired at a time),
(iii) buyers are generalist in their selection approach when it comes to target company sector and size,
(iv) their analysis and diligence is predominately based on limited access to company-level information.
On the other hand, we now have market longevity and historical track record for the single-asset GP-led segment that points to returns which are equal or in excess of a direct buyout strategy, single-asset GP-led managers can have highly targeted strategy lens and clear differentiation in origination and asset selection approach, and their execution capabilities are similar to direct buyout peers with investment processes and diligence requiring deep expertise and experience in direct asset underwriting. In essence, two diametrically different approaches, all falling under the same label – “secondaries”.
2. Continuation Vehicles are just a fraction of what is possible
The desire to hold compounding assets for longer – alongside partners with deep knowledge of the company and sector – has also driven the expansion of what a single-asset GP-led solution is, beyond single-asset continuation vehicles. We see the use of co-control structures and transformational M&A equity financing as natural expansions of a continuation vehicle’s core appeal to investors, i.e. the opportunity to access star assets in partnership with, and closely aligned to, the sponsors best suited to own them.
Partnerships such as recently announced co-control investments by Impilo and KKR, Oakley Capital and Eurazeo, and PSG and Rivean Capital illustrate the template of sponsors bringing in a co-control sponsor to continue successful buy-and-build stories. In each instance, the incoming co-control investor brings additional capital and capabilities to support the second phase of ownership, such as for geographic expansion beyond the home market.
Retaining a larger stake, governance rights and attribution is an attractive proposition to the existing sponsor. They may face constraints however, such as a lack of follow-on capital or fund concentration limits. Creative single-asset GP-led structures can help solve these.
3. “CV squared” emerging as additional route to liquidity
Transactions where one continuation vehicle sells an asset to a newly formed continuation vehicle are drawing significant attention. In our view, these are a natural consequence of continuation vehicles’ widespread adoption over the past five plus years. We see these transactions as a validation of the core thesis – great compounders can deliver alpha returns over multiple ownership cycles. We have seen this pattern playing out in the European landscape multiple times over the years in different disguises. Outstanding examples, such as Hg’s journey with Visma, only highlight the attractiveness of supporting star assets as they scale in their journey to multi-regional, multi-product pre-eminence.
“CV squared” transactions require a case-by-case basis diligence of the sponsor’s motivation, alignment and the go-forward value creation plan for the asset, just as a new investment would. For the existing limited partners, a continuation vehicle solution imposes the decision to sell or roll on – but we see considerable benefit in the additional liquidity provided to the market by these so-called “CV squared” structures, which only add to the exit alternatives available to investors.
4. Lead role in mid-market deals becoming ever more key
We saw single-asset GP-leds emerging as an opportunistic allocation within broader secondaries strategies without dedicated teams and capital. Buyers would initially accept syndicates with multiple competitors participating because the availability of capital on the buyside was not adequate to the demand from sponsors holding high-quality companies. Increasingly, however, we see transactions with one or two clear lead buyers who seek to secure an allocation early (even before a process has commenced) – thereby minimising the allocation available for syndication.
For allocators selecting single-asset GP-led strategies, that means that the highest-quality opportunities will only be accessible to a decreasing set of managers. When committing capital to GP-led managers, we believe allocators should therefore carefully examine origination track records and sourcing advantage going forward, as only those with the requisite strategy focus, team bandwidth and repeatable processes will be able to identify and secure these transactions.
References:
[1] Sponsor-backed exit activity source: Jefferies Global Secondary Market Review, January 2025
[2] IPO and secondaries volume source: Pitchbook, Annual PE Breakdown 2024 (published January 2025)
Hayfin has announced the reset of Hayfin US XIV, LTD. (“Hayfin US XIV”), a $492.27m Collateralized Loan Obligation (“CLO”), which was first priced in July 2021. The reset closed on 20 October 2025 having priced earlier in the month. The deal attracted demand across the capital stack from repeat and new investors alike. Hayfin US XIV will be backed by a diversified portfolio of primarily US senior-secured loans and will have a five-year reinvestment period and a two-year non-call period.
The successful pricing of this reset builds on the 2025 momentum of Hayfin’s Global CLO Platform. This follows the February reset print of US XII, in addition to the three year-to-date resets across Hayfin’s Emerald series, its European shelf. As of 30 June 2025, Hayfin’s Global CLO Platform AUM stands at more than $8.4bn.
Peter Swanson, Hayfin’s Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of US High-Yield and Syndicated Loans, commented: “We believe the completion of this reset highlights our differentiated deployment strategy which aids to drive our performance and portfolio quality. While asset spreads have compressed, we believe this transaction optimises the overall structure, supporting our efforts to balance portfolio credit discipline and distribution outlook.”
Jefferies acted as an arranger for this reset and the original new issue. Orrick acted as portfolio manager counsel for the reset.
In this Q&A, Michaela Campbell, Head of Portfolio Monitoring at Hayfin, explains how her team is transforming data into actionable insights for LPs.
Michaela explores the growing importance of portfolio monitoring, the challenges of managing complex private credit data, and the role AI will play in shaping the future of the industry.
Tell us about the portfolio monitoring team at Hayfin.
As investors’ expectations around transparency grow, LPs are demanding more timely, standardised and high-quality data from GPs. It’s essential to have the infrastructure and resource to support bespoke requirements, as LPs increasingly seek to have consistent reporting from all of their GPs.
Further, with increasing geopolitical and macro-economic uncertainty, the need to be front-footed in monitoring portfolio health has never been greater. Our dedicated team has brought efficiency and streamlining to the reporting, ratings, monitoring and valuations processes, which allow for proactive portfolio management and early intervention.
I joined the firm last year to build out and lead this team. This was all part of a wider drive to invest in the quality of service we can offer to our growing LP base globally, at a time when institutional asset allocation to European private credit remains on the rise.
Our team is making real progress in the kind of insights we can extract from our portfolio companies’ underlying data. This has entailed a substantial investment of the team’s time and resource in structuring, standardising and analysing our portfolio data. Even within the past year, we’ve grown the portfolio monitoring team from two to eight with 2 more joining before the end of the year.
Why is portfolio monitoring important to LPs and what can they expect to gain from it?
For LPs, a portfolio monitoring function is essential for their managers to provide detailed reporting, proactive performance monitoring and value preservation.
Data granularity and enhanced analytic capabilities offer a range of benefits. We can exert better oversight of the portfolio, not only to allow for early engagement with management teams and sponsors, but also to inform future investment decisions, by using our insights and learnings for underwriting and portfolio construction and providing additional, contextual information to aid decision-making.
One example of enhanced analytic capabilities is our early warning indicators, which are fundamental to how we now review the portfolio and prioritise individual deals. This tool has been automated and will soon be available across teams.
Similarly, we were proactive in understanding how PIK-toggles impacted fund-level performance, and also in assessing first and second-order impacts from tariffs to the portfolio.
Through tools like this we believe we can be better partners – to both our borrowers and our LPs. Being able to identify red flags early enables us to engage with borrowers to protect value. Meanwhile, we give LPs the means to assess performance and make informed decisions about their allocations, as well as speeding up their due diligence processes on new fund allocations.
What makes data analysis so complex in private credit?
There are a few structural factors which help explain why the private credit industry has been a relatively slow adopter of automation and big data analytics.
The industry is relatively young, having only emerged in Europe post-crisis. As lenders, you rely on your borrowers to provide high-quality data, and you don’t necessarily have the same levers to pull as the shareholders to compel them to do so. That all impacts the size and quality of the dataset.
With over €50 billion invested in more than 500 companies over 15 years, Hayfin has built a proprietary data bank that supports differentiated and data-driven insights in Europe. We have long requested high-quality, consistent information from our portfolio companies to enable performance tracking. We believe this is now a key differentiator for our private credit platform.
We are now grappling with almost the opposite challenge. Like other large alternative asset managers, we deal with a high volume of data from a variety of investments which is received in many different formats, frequently changing over time and often multi-lingual. That requires us to standardise data from multiple unstructured sources. The quantity of data we receive is growing so cracking the standardisation problem isn’t just about cleaning up data; it’s about gaining a real competitive edge. We believe the firms that can collect, structure, analyse and share this information the fastest and most consistently, will be the preferred choice for asset owners and investors.
One additional challenge is that, increasingly, LPs want reporting delivered in a consistent format, often tailored to their internal systems. That puts pressure on GPs to evolve their processes and technology infrastructure to accommodate those requests.
What does the future hold for portfolio monitoring?
It almost seems too cliché to mention at this point, but we believe that elements of portfolio monitoring will centre around the intelligent use of generative AI. The industry is relatively early in its AI journey, but the pace of improvement and adoption will only accelerate.
The tricky nature of unstructured portfolio data has somewhat slowed the industry’s adoption of advanced data techniques compared to other sectors, but AI is already showing promise in streamlining underwriting, data analysis and deal logistics.
It’s important as an industry that we don’t rush the integration of generative AI into portfolio monitoring, as these GenAI models are often not sufficiently accurate to be fully relied upon. AI should supplement, but never replace, the human judgment, governance and validation that must remain central to our investment activities and portfolio monitoring.
Over time, I expect AI will help the industry resolve pervasive issues related to standardising performance tracking, as well as helping to detect anomalies and incorporate alternative data sources to flag emerging risks. But handling sensitive borrower data requires purpose-built tools and robust infrastructure, which will no doubt take time to perfect.
Overview
As private markets continue to evolve, new challenges drive sponsors, companies, banks and asset managers to seek creative financing solutions. While private credit funds are sitting on ample reserves of dry powder, much of this is earmarked for lower risk opportunities, in funds that are increasingly averse to structural or situational complexity.
Beyond the Unitranche: Creative financing solutions in a changing market
Hayfin today announces the acquisition of Gropius Passagen, Berlin’s largest shopping centre, from Nuveen and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. With around 95,000 sqm of lettable retail space, more than 150 tenants, and annual tenant turnover exceeding €200 million, Gropius Passagen is the dominant retail destination in Berlin’s Neukölln district and one of Germany’s premier shopping centres.
Following the acquisition, Pradera, a leading retail real estate investment management specialist will act as asset manager on behalf of Hayfin. Pradera will oversee a capital expenditure programme aimed at enhancing the centre, including the introduction of new medical space, improved accessibility, and a reconfiguration of selected retail units.
Carlos Colomer, Managing Director at Hayfin, said: “Gropius Passagen offers high-quality exposure to the opportunity we currently see within European shopping centres. It’s a locally dominant scheme in continental Europe’s largest retail market with a large and diversified portfolio of long-term tenants, combining defensive qualities with significant value-add potential. We’re looking forward to working with Pradera to upgrade the asset further and enhance the experience for Gropius Passagen’s loyal customers and retailer partners.”
JLL, Gleiss Lutz and Macfarlanes advised Hayfin on the transaction. CBRE and ambas acted on behalf of the vendor with Hauck Schuchardt as legal advisor.
Hayfin is pleased to announce the appointment of Tim Atkinson and Steven Carew as Managing Directors within its Partner Solutions Group. Based in London, Tim will lead the Product Strategy team focused on Hayfin’s opportunistic credit strategies, while Steven will lead the firm’s client franchise in Australia from Melbourne.
Tim brings over 17 years of experience in alternative investments, product development and client partnerships. He joins Hayfin from Blantyre Capital, where he served as Head of Investor Partnerships for four years, overseeing capital formation and strategic client engagement. Prior to this, Tim spent more than a decade at Meketa Investment Group, a leading alternative investment consulting firm, where he was responsible for sourcing, conducting due diligence and managing portfolio construction for both discretionary and non-discretionary private credit clients.
Prior to joining Hayfin, Steven worked in the investment consulting, superannuation, funds management and banking sectors. He brings a wealth of experience, having been Head of the Multi-Boutique platform at Warakirri Asset Management. Before that, he spent over 20 years with Australia’s largest investment consultant, JANA Investment Advisers, including nine years as Chief Investment Officer.
Maura English, Managing Director, Partner Solutions team at Hayfin, said: “Our opportunistic credit strategies have been an important part of Hayfin’s product offering from the outset. Tim’s appointment to our Partner Solutions team will further enhance the solutions we can offer in this area. His experience in product strategy and investor partnerships will be instrumental as we expand our platform and deepen our relationships with our global LP base.”
Steve Bringardner, Managing Director, Partner Solutions team at Hayfin, said: “Hayfin has been strategically backed by Australian institutional capital, first as a minority shareholder and then as fund investors, throughout the firm’s history. In Steven, we’re bringing in a highly experienced professional to double down on our relationships in this market. Expanding our global footprint with a presence in Australia also serves to further cement our long-standing commitment to the region.”
The appointments come amid Hayfin’s recent strategic partnerships with Mubadala, AXA IM Prime and Samsung Life, which acquired minority stakes in the firm from Arctos Partners. These transactions underscore Hayfin’s commitment to enhancing its ability to deliver innovative, investor-focused solutions across a growing platform.
Hayfin is pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel Stevenson as Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets, effective immediately.
Daniel joins from Deutsche Bank, where he spent over 14 years in the leveraged finance team, most recently as Managing Director in Leveraged Debt Capital Markets. In that role, he advised global corporate and sponsor-backed clients on high-yield bonds and leveraged loan financings, supporting some of the largest acquisition and expansion transactions in the market.
Marc Chowrimootoo, Portfolio Manager and Co-Head of Direct Lending, said: “Daniel’s appointment marks an important step in broadening Hayfin’s origination and execution capabilities. With larger transactions accounting for an ever-greater share of private credit deal volumes, access to and understanding of capital markets are critical. Daniel’s extensive experience will be a valuable addition to our existing coverage of the private credit, bank and syndicated markets. We look forward to welcoming him to the team and meeting the evolving needs of our borrowers, sponsors and co-investment partners.”
Daniel Stevenson, Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets, said: “I am excited to be joining Hayfin as the firm expands its reach across a wider range of deal sizes and types. The opportunity to bring my experience in leveraged finance to support the growth of a buy-side platform, and to work with such a talented team, was a compelling one. I look forward to helping Hayfin continue to innovate and scale in the years ahead.”
Hayfin today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Samsung Life Insurance (“Samsung Life”). As part of this planned initiative, Samsung Life will acquire a minority stake in Hayfin from Arctos Partners (“Arctos”), a move jointly structured by Arctos and Hayfin to broaden Hayfin’s institutional shareholder base.
The transaction builds on Hayfin’s recently announced strategic partnership with Mubadala Investment Company (“Mubadala”) and AXA IM Prime, a business unit of AXA IM – part of the BNP Paribas Group (“AXA IM Prime”) – which saw Mubadala and AXA IM Prime each acquire a minority interest in Hayfin. Like Mubadala and AXA IM Prime, Samsung Life will support Hayfin’s investment strategies in tandem with becoming a minority shareholder. The transaction further strengthens Hayfin’s footprint in South Korea, reaffirming its commitment to clients in the region.
The addition of a third new institutional minority shareholder represents the next stage in a coordinated post-management buyout (“MBO”) plan led by Hayfin and Arctos, with Arctos continuing to provide long-term strategic support through its Keystone platform, which provides bespoke growth capital and liquidity solutions to leading financial sponsors. The resulting shareholding has enabled the Hayfin team to become majority owners of the firm’s common equity. Completion remains subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Tim Flynn, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer at Hayfin, said: “This strategic partnership with Samsung Life is another strong endorsement of the franchise we have built. It completes our plan to bolster Hayfin’s shareholder base post-MBO through the addition of best-in-class institutions from across the globe onto our platform. Through establishing this partnership with Samsung, we look forward to deepening our commitment to the South Korean market, where we see investor demand for investment strategies continuing to grow.”
Joonkyu Park, CIO of Samsung Life Insurance, said: “We are very excited to partner with Hayfin, a recognised leader in the European market, and this strategic partnership will play a vital role in the growth and global expansion of Samsung Life’s asset management business. Hayfin has built an excellent long-term historic investment track record and will continue to provide a broad array of attractive investment opportunities, further strengthening our focus on the private capital market. We look forward to supporting Hayfin’s ongoing growth alongside Arctos, Mubadala, and AXA IM Prime.”
Hayfin today announces the successful pricing of the reset of Hayfin Emerald CLO XII DAC, a €376.3 million collateralised loan obligation. The transaction was arranged by Jefferies, with Hayfin Emerald Management LLP acting as Collateral Manager and Hayfin Emerald II Limited as Retention Holder.
The reset of Emerald XII follows Hayfin’s pricing of Emerald XIV in December 2024.
This reset reflects Hayfin’s continued commitment to delivering strong performance and strategic growth across its CLO platform.
Gina Germano, Portfolio Manager and Head of the European HYSL team, said: “This transaction highlights the team’s ability to execute effectively in dynamic markets. We’re proud to have delivered a structure that brings new strategic relationships to the platform and positions the transaction for enhanced long-term performance over an extended period.”
Hayfin today announced it has entered into strategic partnerships with Mubadala Investment Company (“Mubadala”) and AXA IM Prime, a business unit of AXA IM – part of BNP Paribas Group (“AXA IM Prime”), on behalf of one of its investment funds. As part of the agreement, each firm will acquire a minority interest from Arctos Partners (“Arctos”) in Hayfin and leverage their capabilities and expertise to support Hayfin’s investment strategies.
The transaction builds on the partnership between Hayfin and private investment firm Arctos. In February, Hayfin completed a management buyout (“MBO”) supported by Arctos via its Keystone strategy, which provides strategic partnerships to leading financial sponsors, through bespoke growth capital and liquidity solutions. The transaction facilitated the Hayfin team becoming majority owners of the firm’s common equity.
To enhance the MBO, Hayfin and Arctos jointly sought to distribute a portion of the firm’s institutional ownership to additional strategic minority shareholders. Mubadala and AXA IM Prime, alongside Arctos, will support the continued growth of Hayfin to further deliver on the firm’s long-term objectives of greater team ownership, alignment and incentivisation.
Hayfin will remain focused on generating superior and consistent risk-adjusted returns for its clients. As with the Arctos-backed buyout, the transaction will lead to no changes in Hayfin’s strategy, investment process, leadership or day-to-day operations. Completion remains subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Tim Flynn, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer at Hayfin, said: “This is another landmark step, building on our partnership with Arctos, in what is an exciting new chapter for Hayfin. We are thrilled to welcome two best-in-class long-term partners in Mubadala and AXA IM Prime, each of whom represent strong endorsements of the platform we have built at Hayfin. Mubadala and AXA IM Prime bring unique perspectives and resources from around the globe that will support Hayfin’s ongoing growth and delivery of value for our clients, investors, borrowers and sponsors.”
“We are excited to partner with Hayfin as they embark on this new chapter of growth,” added Omar Eraiqaat, Deputy CEO of the Credit and Special Situations platform at Mubadala. “Their track record, investment discipline, and shared values with Mubadala make them an ideal fit for our long-term capital. This partnership reflects our conviction in Hayfin’s platform and leadership team and reinforces our strategy of backing high-quality asset managers that deliver value to all their stakeholders.”
Gilles Dusaintpère, Head of AXA IM Prime GP Stake investments at AXA IM said: “We are proud and excited to partner with Hayfin and to enhance our existing relationship. We fully endorse Hayfin’s development and long-term objectives of greater team ownership, alignment and incentivisation. Our investment strategy is designed to partner and align with best-in-class private markets players, and we look forward to supporting Hayfin and its team alongside Mubadala and Arctos.”