Jefferies Credit Partners has reached approximately $4bn in lending capacity for its European institutional direct lending strategy, marking the first close of its inaugural European fund and a significant milestone in the US manager's expansion across the Atlantic.

The flagship fund was anchored by commitments from Allianz Global Investors and backed by investments from the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission alongside other institutional investors. Notably, the fund was seeded at close through the acquisition of a diversified portfolio of recently originated European private credit investments, giving the vehicle immediate exposure to performing assets.

"JCP's expansion into Europe is a natural extension of our established direct lending platform," said Tom Brady, president of Jefferies Finance. "With an experienced investment team and an embedded footprint through Jefferies' EMEA Investment Banking franchise, we are positioned to source high-quality opportunities and replicate the success of our U.S. strategy."

The fund's perpetual structure is designed to provide institutional investors with scalable access to a diversified portfolio of sponsor-backed, senior secured private credit investments across Europe and the UK, with a primary focus on middle market and upper middle market transactions.

Jefferies said it is in documentation with two additional partnership accounts expected to close later in 2026. Including the fund close, those partnership accounts, and access to Jefferies' balance sheet capital, the firm estimates close to $4bn of lending capacity will be available for the European strategy in the near term.

"Europe remains an attractive and underpenetrated market for private credit, and we believe we have a differentiated access point to the European sponsor community through Jefferies' relationships," said James Pearce, head of European direct lending at Jefferies Credit Partners.

Allianz Global Investors played a central role in the launch. "Leading the transaction that seeded the fund's portfolio allowed us to put the full strength of Allianz Global Investors' credit secondaries platform to work — our scale, our partnership-oriented approach, and our experience structuring GP-led transactions," said Joaquin Ardit, lead portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors.

The entry of Jefferies into European direct lending adds another well-capitalised competitor to an already crowded market. The firm's European platform launched in late 2024 and has been actively deploying balance sheet capital since inception, building a track record ahead of the inaugural fund close. For European sponsors, the arrival of another large-scale lender with investment banking relationships offers additional optionality in an increasingly competitive financing market.