Stafford Capital Partners launch new seeded open-ended direct lending and speciality finance fund

London, 5 October 2022 –Stafford Capital Partners (“Stafford”), a leading international private markets investment and advisory group has launched Stafford Private Credit Income Opportunities Fund (“CIO”), a new open-ended direct lending and speciality finance fund.

CIO will invest in both lower middle market senior secured direct lending and speciality finance opportunities primarily in Europe and North America.

The new fund has been seeded with a $132m NAV secondary transaction of an existing well diversified portfolio that is already 76% drawn and invested in primary funds, secondary transactions and co-investments alongside 16 well established private credit managers.

Initially invested between 2017 and 2020, the seed portfolio comprises 18 investments and over 450 underlying assets that are expected to generate attractive current income as well as an overall target return in the double digits.

Following the initial sell down of the seed portfolio, Stafford will seek to prudently raise additional capital for CIO to support new investments from the fund. Investors will be given the flexibility to redeem some or all of their investments through annual redemption windows, starting five years after their commitment.

Commenting on the announcement, Rick Fratus, Managing Partner, Stafford Private Markets, said: “We are excited to bring CIO to market. The fund presents investors with a unique opportunity to access a seasoned direct lending floating rate loan portfolio that is benefiting from central bank rate increases and a speciality finance strategy with low market correlation.”

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For further enquiries about Stafford Capital Partners please contact

Georgina Whittle

Partner

Camarco

+44 20 3757 4987 / +44 7835 770967

Georgina.whittle@camarco.co.uk

Sean Palmer

Associate Partner

Camarco

+44 20 3757 4980 / +44 7591 760844

sean.palmer@camarco.co.uk

About Stafford Capital Partners

Stafford Capital Partners (“Stafford”) is an independent private markets investment and advisory firm with USD %%AuM%%bn in assets under management and advice* for more than %%numClients%% institutional clients worldwide. Founded in 2000, it has a global team of 80+ professionals investing in infrastructure, timberland, agriculture & food and sustainable private equity and private credit through secondaries, primaries, and co-investments. Stafford has been a UN PRI signatory since 2010 and has committed to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative.

It puts sustainability at the centre of its investment process and implements a well-defined ESG program across all strategies. In the UK, Stafford is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 225586) and Stafford is a company registered in England (Company Reg: 4752750).

* As of 30 September 2023

The information in this press release does not represent investment advice and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. This press release neither constitutes an offer to sell nor a solicitation to invest in any of Stafford’s funds. It is for information purposes only and is not a recommendation. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to invest in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale would be prohibited or to any person not meeting the required investor criteria. Any opinions expressed are given in good faith but are subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, completeness or correctness of any information in this press release which has not been verified.