About This Fund
Arini Direct Lending Fund is the first dedicated direct lending vehicle of Arini, a specialised alternative asset manager headquartered in London. Founded in 2021 by Hamza Lemssouguer, a former star credit trader at Credit Suisse, Arini manages approximately $12 billion in total assets under management as of late 2025 across credit master funds, structured credit, collateralised loan obligations (CLOs), and direct lending strategies. The firm has rapidly established itself as one of Europe's prominent credit managers, posting double-digit annual returns across its flagship strategies.
The Arini Direct Lending Fund targets mid-cap corporates across EMEA through directly originated senior secured loans and structured credit instruments. The fund strategy was launched in 2025 and anchored by a cornerstone commitment from the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), one of Canada's largest institutional investors, alongside a co-investment agreement. The fund reached its first close at approximately $1 billion of investable capital including leverage, and subsequently secured $2.3 billion at a second close, demonstrating strong institutional appetite for Arini's credit origination platform. A strategic origination partnership was also established with Lazard to jointly source direct lending opportunities across EMEA mid-cap corporates.
The fund's investment approach is fundamentally driven and opportunistic, targeting senior secured and unitranche instruments in companies with resilient business models and strong sponsor backing. Arini's direct lending platform benefits from the firm's established credit research capabilities across public and private credit markets, bringing institutional-grade underwriting discipline to direct lending. The fund represents Arini's expansion into the rapidly growing European private credit market, where mid-cap companies increasingly seek non-bank financing solutions.