GCM Grosvenor raises $1.2bn for dedicated private credit secondaries strategy
GCM Grosvenor has secured $1.2bn for its first dedicated strategy focused on private credit secondaries, as growing demand for liquidity creates new opportunities in the expanding private credit market, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The Chicago-based alternative investment manager is targeting a segment it expects to develop alongside the broader private credit industry, which has grown to approximately $1.8tn in assets.
Steve McMillan, head of credit research at GCM Grosvenor, said the development of a secondary market was a natural progression for a large and expanding private asset class.
GCM Grosvenor manages approximately $91bn and already operates secondaries strategies across private equity, infrastructure and real estate.
The credit secondaries market has expanded rapidly. Trading volumes almost doubled to approximately $20bn last year from around $11bn in 2024, according to Evercore data, as fund managers and investors increasingly sought ways to generate liquidity from private credit holdings.
The growth has attracted major institutional managers. Ares Management raised $7.1bn for its first private credit secondaries strategy earlier this year, while Pantheon is seeking at least $6bn for its latest credit-focused funds.
The emergence of the market is also being supported by a slower private equity deal environment. Private credit funds frequently lend to sponsor-backed companies, but weaker M&A activity has reduced exit opportunities and extended the period for which lenders hold loans.
That has increased pressure on some limited partners to manage their private-market portfolios and find liquidity without waiting for underlying assets to mature or be sold.
GCM Grosvenor said the current environment could create opportunities for secondary buyers to acquire assets at meaningful discounts, particularly in transactions initiated by limited partners.
McMillan said approximately 80% of the capital deployed by the firm so far had been directed towards LP-led transactions.