Ardian private debt appoints new Co-head

Mr Brenke has over 20 years’ private capital investment experience in European markets, encompassing both private debt and private equity. Prior to joining Ardian, Mr Brenke worked for Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), most recently with responsibility for establishing ICG’s European Direct Lending business. He has worked at Ardian for over two years, initially joining as a Managing Director.

Mr Brenke will work alongside Olivier Berment, who is also Co-Head of Ardian Private Debt. Mr Berment has 18 years of private equity experience including 13 years with Ardian.

Ardian Private Debt, which is based out of London, Paris and Frankfurt, continues to grow, with a team of 17 people across its pan-European office network. Its third generation fund, which closed in September last year having raised €2 billion is now over 50% committed. Recent investments include 6 Degrees and JLA in the UK, and Germany’s P&I.

Unitranche continues to be an important area of growth, with this form of financing increasingly being used by companies and funds. Current market conditions also mean that companies are turning towards private funding in preference over bank financing, with recent indications of accelerated retrenchment in the latter sector.

Mark Brenke, Co-Head of Ardian Debt, said: “The current strength of Ardian Private Debt’s performance makes this a particularly exciting time to take on this new role. With $60 billion Assets under Management, Ardian is now Europe’s largest provider of private capital. As economic uncertainty continues to increase, private debt providers will play a key role in the economy.”

Vincent Gombault, Member of the Executive Committee and Head of Ardian Funds of Funds and Private Debt, said: “We have seen strong growth in the demand for private debt funds and, as a company, we will always grow to meet the evolving needs of our investors. Mark is an experienced operator and will help to continue building our offering. Amid such economic uncertainty, the role of private debt investors such as Ardian, which can provide capital responsibly and act as a growth partner for companies, will be crucial.”