2026年5月欧洲私募信贷市场监测报告

EUROPEAN Private CreditMonitor May 2026 Key Takeaways •Software falls from favour–LCD’s May data shows thatProfessional & Business Services has now unseated Technology asthe biggest sector for new deals in Europe in YTD 2026. •UK deal flow shows a resurgence–France had the largest shareof deals by volume in 2025 (25%), but the UK has now taken its topspot back at 35% of deal flow. In 2025, it came second to France at22%. Deals from French borrowers account for only 17% of YTD •Buyout volume falls less sharply than total volume–Total directlending estimated volume has fallen by 45% YTD, while estimatedbuyout volume has dropped by 36%. On a three-month rolling basis, •Direct lending leverage shows moderation while BSL gets moreaggressive–The gap between average sponsored leverage in DLand BSL was the narrowest on record. This is driven by a rise inleverage for BSL deals as the cost of debt has declined, and •Spread compression rate slows–Average and median directlending spreads fell YTD from previous years (at 504 bps for both),but the average only compressed by 3.4% from 2025, versus anaverage yearly reduction of 7.6% from 2023 to 2025. The medianspread tightened by 1.4% in YTD 2026, versus an average yearly •Some larger transactions have recouped market share YTD–There was an increase in deals in the €350-999 million segment of the market by count. More specifically, deals in the €350-499 millionrange grew to 16% of deals YTD, from 9% in 2025, and deals in the€500-999 million range increased to 16%, from 11% in the sameperiod. •Refinancing and recap deal activity is in decline–On a year-over-year basis, estimated volumes for refinancings and recaps aredown by 74% and 60%, respectively, in 2026. Overall acquisition- Direct Lending Volume &Counts The last three months saw the lowest European DL deal activity since Q1 2024, when compared to quarterly data Estimated volume so far this year is almost half of that in YTD 2025 Refi and recap activity in the YTD slumps compared to the same time last year PE-backed direct lending activity also declined in the last three months compared to Q1 The number and estimated volume of sponsor-backed transactions in 2026 trail the 2025 pace The number of sponsored acquisition-related transactions in the last three months dropped to 21, the lowest since early 2024 The number of LBOs in the last three months fell by 14% compared to Q1 2026 The estimated volume of buyouts so far in 2026 trails the same time last year by 36% Average and median direct lending spreads fell YTD compared to previous years, but the compression rate is slowing BSL market resurgence means tighter spreads, showing a clear bifurcation from the DL market YTD YTD in Europe, all direct lending LBOs have priced at under 600 bps BSL spread compression means the difference between average LBO spreads has jumped to 159 bps in YTD 2026 Broadly Syndicated vs.Direct Lending Market The difference between the count of LBOs financed in the BSL market and direct lending narrowed further in the last three months Syndicated lenders financed nearly twice the buyout volume in the last three months as direct lenders The number of total sponsor-backed transactions has almost equalized between the two markets in the last three months… …but BSL sponsor-backed volume still outpaces that of direct lending Both BSL and DL volumes in 2026 are behind the same period last year European HY deal activity outpaces BSL and direct lending markets No BSL debt has been refinanced by direct lenders since Q3 2025 Market Characteristics The share of non-sponsored transactions fell in the last three months… …and on a YTD basis is lower than any other full year LCD has tracked so far The number of recaps fell, butrefismade up almost a fifth of all DL transactions so far in 2026 Half of all non-sponsored transactions so far this year are acquisition-related The share of sponsoredrefisso far this year is the highest since LCD records began The UK has the highest deal share in the European direct lending market so far in 2026… …similarly taking the lead in the PE-backed DL market… …while Spain has hosted half of all non-sponsored transactions this year Professional & Business Services has overtaken Technology as the leading European direct lending sector YTD Similarly, Business Services has overtaken Software & Data Integration as the top DL segment this year The difference between syndicated and DL sponsored leverage has shrunk to less than 0.1x in 2026 Some larger transactions have recouped market share in the YTD, with an increase in the €350-999 segment of the market by count None of the 10 largest direct lending deals were done in 2026 Top 4 software deals by size appear in the overall top 10 deals by size ranking The number of debt-for-equity swaps and other distressed situations increased sharply in 2025 Direct Lending AUM,Private Debt Capital Raised General debt is the largest type of priva