UK-based alternative credit specialist Pemberton has raised $1 billion for its Working Capital Finance (WCF) strategy.
The $15 billion firm’s strategy is focused on receivables, payables and inventory financings for large and mid-market companies in both the U.S. and in Europe through an open-ended fund structure. Pemberton invests in companies that span a wide range of sectors, with a focus on IT and food businesses.
“This milestone demonstrates growing LP interest in working capital finance and its ability to offer compelling returns in volatile market conditions,” said Mark Hickey, head of working capital finance, based in Pemberton’s London office. “We believe non-bank capital will play an increasingly important role in short-term corporate financing and that the investments we have made in our team and our proprietary technology platform will enable us to grow the strategy to over $10 billion AuM over the next five years.”
Pemberton bills itself as one of the first to offer a short-term alternative credit strategy to institutional investors. The working capital finance strategy is capitalizing on growing demand on the part of corporations as the market segment is set to grow over the coming years. The firm’s WCF strategy is zero duration and offers investors very low volatility. Officials say there have been no defaults or losses since inception.
“Our Working Capital Finance strategy extends Pemberton’s range of investment strategies to include short-term corporate credit,” said Symon Drake-Brockman, managing partner at Pemberton. It leverages our core strengths as a fundamental credit manager, whilst providing our LPs with another complement to our established direct lending strategies.”
Pemberton’s 10-strong dedicated WCF investment team continues to grow.
Recent hires include Oren Bass as head of origination. Oren is responsible for sourcing WCF assets for the strategy globally and brings more than 20 years’ of experience in alternative lending and private debt. Prior to joining Pemberton, Oren was CEO of FIBR Bank (previously Amsterdam Trade Bank) where he was responsible for transforming the bank into a pan-European digital lender focused on SMEs. He also founded pioneering digital lender Pave, which he scaled across the United States, and previously worked at GLG Partners and Goldman Sachs. He joins a team that includes six managing directors, who are responsible for sourcing, structuring, and underwriting the assets for the strategy.
