European credit specialist, AlbaCore Capital Group (“AlbaCore”), is pleased to announce the appointment of Luke Gillam as Partner, Head of Senior Direct Lending.
Gillam brings more than 25 years of experience across European Leveraged and Structured Finance to this newly created role. He joins AlbaCore from Goldman Sachs, where he served as Head of EMEA Credit Capital Markets and as Co-Chairman of the Credit Capital Market Committee. Gillam will lead, alongside Bill Ammons, the sourcing, underwriting and execution of senior direct lending transactions and will manage the senior direct lending team.
“Luke’s experience and relationships across credit markets will complement and reinforce the expertise of AlbaCore’s senior investment team,” said David Allen, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at AlbaCore. “Luke joins AlbaCore at a time when we are well-positioned to capitalise on the growing opportunities in the European Senior Direct Lending market. I’m excited to work alongside him as we build upon our experience in European Senior Direct Lending to bring a dedicated strategy to market.”
AlbaCore’s strategies have largely operated with a flexible mandate, with funds primarily focused on capital solutions and opportunistic credit in addition to the dislocation strategy and the Firm’s successful CLO platform. With the change in the interest rate cycle, the opportunity set in private credit is evolving. Gillam’s appointment will allow AlbaCore to leverage its existing capabilities and provide a broader product range targeting specific parts of corporates’ capital structures, from Senior Direct Lending and CLO tranches to Junior Capital Solutions.
“I am delighted to become part of the AlbaCore team and capitalise on the growing opportunity set in the European Senior Direct Lending market. AlbaCore’s existing European platform across private and liquid credit, strong reputation in the market and deep relationships with sponsors, banks and advisors provide investors with a very attractive offering,” said Luke Gillam, Partner and Head of Senior Direct Lending at AlbaCore. “There continues to be a real growth opportunity for Senior Direct Lending in Europe, which will result in private lending financing a much bigger part of upper mid to large cap businesses’ capital structures. I am looking forward to building a dedicated Senior Direct Lending platform for AlbaCore and grow its role as a key provider of financing solutions in Europe.”
Gillam’s hire is the latest milestone as the Firm strengthens its investment capabilities. AlbaCore currently has $9.4 billion in AUM and has invested more than $28 billion since its founding in 2016. The Firm is in the process of finalising a first close for its dedicated European Senior Direct Lending Strategy to focus on upper mid to large cap businesses which Gillam will lead.
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