US private credit firm Golub Capital to set up base in Abu Dhabi

US-listed direct lender and private credit manager Golub Capital is opening an office in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, it said on Monday, joining dozens of other firms looking to grow their business in the region and deepen ties with its wealth funds.

Golub, which had more than $70bn of capital under management as of October 1, has received preliminary approval for a licence to operate out of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s financial centre, it said in a statement, adding that it had appointed Naser Almutairi as managing director for the Middle East.

The announcement came as global and regional financiers gathered in the UAE’s capital city for the first day of the Abu Dhabi Finance Week annual conference.

The emirate, which holds 90 per cent of the UAE’s oil reserves, has accelerated efforts to diversify its economy, with ADGM striving to become a global hub.

Although it trails neighbouring Dubai’s DIFC financial centre, ADGM’s assets under management reached $157.2bn at the end of June as firms including the family office of billionaire Ray Dalio, hedge fund Brevan Howard and the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, flocked to the hub.

It is also attracting firms active in private credit, which has grown rapidly in recent years as stricter regulations make it more expensive for traditional lenders to finance riskier loans.

The asset class is expected to grow to $2.6tn by 2029 from $1.5tn at the end of last year, according to Preqin data.

BlackRock said last week that it would invest about $12bn to buy private credit firm HPS Investment Partners.

Gulf sovereign wealth funds are also expanding in the private credit space, including Abu Dhabi’s $330bn Mubadala, which has forged partnerships with the likes of Apollo and Goldman Sachs in recent years and last week said it would buy a 42 per cent stake in US credit asset manager Silver Rock Financial.

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