Explore Private Credit at Linklaters

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Fund formation and fundraising

We are a trusted partner for leading private credit sponsors in Europe and globally, as well as those that are seeking to launch in this rapidly evolving asset class.

We provide best in class structuring and establishment advice, supporting our clients to raise products that allow them to access institutional and private wealth capital from around the world. Our private credit fund formation expertise spans open and closed-ended products, complex SMAs, co-investment programmes and GP-led secondaries.

We work hand-in-hand with our colleagues across the globe and are experts in the full spectrum of private credit products, including direct lending, asset finance, sustainable finance, infrastructure debt fund finance and capital solutions.

Find out more about our Investment Funds offering.

Recent highlights include:

Macquarie: advising on the establishment of all its private credit funds, including its flagship investment grade and sub investment grade infrastructure debt funds, direct lending funds, fund finance fund and green energy funds.
Ardian: advising on the establishment of its flagship private credit funds, including Ardian Private Credit V, Ardian Private Debt IV and Ardian Private Debt III.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management: advising on the establishment of North Haven Value Add Real Estate Credit Fund and the North Haven Secured Private Credit Fund.
CVC: advising on the raising of its first Luxembourg direct lending fund.
Barings: advising on the establishment of several private credit funds and separate managed accounts, including Barings North American Private Loan 3 (target commitments of US$9bn) and its fourth generation closed-ended global private credit fund platform (expected commitments of US$3bn at closing).
KKR Credit Advisors: advising on the establishment of various direct lending and special situations funds.
QIC and Qualitas Energy: advising on the establishment of their flagship infrastructure debt funds.
Carlyle: advising on the structuring, establishment and the fundraising of:

Its second Credit Infrastructure Fund focusing on directly originated financings for projects primarily in energy transition opportunities.
Its Direct Lending Fund structured as an open-ended evergreen fund.
Its third Credit Opportunities Fund, with US$7.1bn in investable capital.

Awards

Law Firm of the Year – Overall
Private Equity Wire
European Credit Awards 2024
Spotlight Table
Credit Funds
Chambers UK 2025
Law Firm of the Year – Fund Structuring
Alternative Credit Awards 2024

Strategic partnerships

We are market leaders in structuring co-investment partnerships between banks and private credit funds. These partnerships bring together the origination and servicing expertise of a bank with the capital of a private credit fund and offer a range of benefits to both participants. These include enhanced market access, optimised capital treatment, and the pooling of expertise and client relationships.

Find out more about our strategic co-investment capabilities.

We have acted on all of the most prominent transactions in this space in the UK as the market has developed over the past few years. Recent highlights include:

Lloyds: advised Lloyds on the structuring and establishment of their co-investment partnership with Oaktree in relation to their mid-market leverage finance business.
Investec: advised Investec on the structuring and establishment of their co-investment partnership with Ares in respect of their subscription line business, which included external leverage from third party banks.
A UK Bank: advised the bank on the structuring and establishment of their co-investment partnership with a UK investor in relation to their fund finance business.
An international bank: advised the bank in respect of the establishment of a co-investment co-operation in its subscription line business.
A UK Bank: advised on a co-investment arrangement with a Canadian pension fund.
An institutional investor: advised on their entry into a first look/right of first offer arrangement in respect of the securitised/structured products business of a US bank.

Capabilities across investment strategies

At Linklaters, we support clients throughout the private credit lifecycle with unparalleled expertise across the full spectrum of investment strategies.

These include asset-based finance, private debt solutions, fund finance, structured capital solutions, distressed and special situations, and direct lending. Our market-leading capabilities ensure that our clients are best placed to leverage opportunities in this dynamic asset class.

Whether you're navigating intricate financial structures or seeking innovative lending solutions, our global reach and multidisciplinary approach ensure that your investment strategies are robust, adaptable, and aligned with market demands.

Please explore the tiles below for further information on our capabilities in each of these areas.

Portfolio management

We are on hand to support throughout the duration of your downstream investments, offering proactive advice on portfolio management solutions to unlock upside potential and generate returns through refinancing transactions, disposals or consensual or non-consensual restructuring processes.

We are also excellently placed to assist with secondary transactions, both GP-led and LP-led, with an extensive track record in this area. We have acted on numerous “secondary direct” portfolio acquisitions, “management secondaries”, the purchase and sale of fund portfolios and innumerable negotiated fund purchase and sale transactions. We have also acted on some of the most significant sell-side mandates of recent years, particularly for a broad range of financial institutions and a number of large Middle Eastern sovereign funds. On the buy-side, we have acted for some of the most important financial investors. Find out more about our secondaries capabilities.

Exit strategies

We help our private credit clients navigate the full spectrum of exit strategies for their investments. Our end-to-end approach brings together our leading transactional expertise with the full range of specialist areas including antitrust, employment and incentives, environmental, intellectual property, pensions, tax and technology.

Find out more about our continuation fund and co-invest capabilities.

Over the past two decades we have pioneered complex multi-jurisdictional loan portfolio disposals across a range of asset classes, deploying the full range of disposal techniques (including outright sale, sub-participations and declarations of trust) for various leading financial institutions. We are also increasingly deploying this knowhow in guiding clients who are focused on proactively managing their portfolios.