Tikehau Capital has returned €2.2bn to limited partners in the first nine months of 2026, including €1.1bn in the third quarter alone, the highest quarterly figure of the year, according to the Paris-listed manager's Q3 trading update published on 22 October.
Group assets under management stood at €51.7bn at 30 September, up 3% year on year at constant perimeter, while fee-paying AUM rose 6% to €42.5bn. Tikehau deployed €3.4bn and realised €1.9bn over the nine-month period, and raised €2.2bn, including €0.5bn in the third quarter, which the firm described as a selective fundraising approach focused on supporting fee-related earnings.
Credit remains the largest part of the platform. Credit AUM totalled €24.1bn, or 47% of the group, up 4% year on year but down about €1.1bn from the end of June. Among the period's realisations, Tikehau completed the full liquidation of its third Direct Lending vintage, which returned an 8.1% net IRR and generated €15m of performance-related earnings. The firm's third Credit Secondaries vehicle also held its first close, anchored by a Korean institutional investor; no size was disclosed.
On the balance sheet, Tikehau's investment portfolio fell to €4.0bn from €4.4bn at the end of 2025, reflecting €846m of returns of capital and exits, including its stake in Schroders, which was sold at a 1.65x gross MOIC.
Co-founders Antoine Flamarion and Mathieu Chabran said: "Our objective is unchanged: deliver profitable AuM growth and long-term value for our clients and shareholders."
The update lands weeks after reports that Tikehau is seeking a strategic investor, and it puts distributions rather than headline fundraising at the centre of the story. For LPs weighing re-ups, a fully realised direct lending vintage with a stated net IRR is a concrete track-record data point from a mid-sized European credit house.
The 8.1% net figure also gives allocators a reference point for realised, after-fee returns from a complete European direct lending vintage, as opposed to interim marks on funds still deploying or harvesting.
Looking ahead, Tikehau expects fundraising to pick up in the fourth quarter, with €1.5bn to €2.0bn anticipated, driven mainly by private equity. It guides AUM to between €52.0bn and €52.5bn at 31 December 2026.
