Alcentra, BlueBay win GEPS’ $90 mn Europe private debt mandates

The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) will commit 40 million euros ($45 million) each to blind-pool private debt funds of Alcentra Ltd. and BlueBay Asset Management LLP for small to mid-market direct lending.

The South Korean pension fund selected the two London-based asset managers for the mandates in late October, according to its recent statement, as market expectations for interest rate hikes rose.

More than 70% of the committed capital will be invested across Europe and for senior tranches, including unitranche loans, for an investment period of up to five years.

GEPS has been earning stable returns of around 10% from a similar strategy investment it made in 2015, its CIO Chang-hoon Lee was quoted as saying by the Financial News, a South Korean news outlet, in a recent report.

Alcentra and BlueBay are among the largest mid-market non-bank lenders in Europe.