Investec Australia’s corporate loan book sold to Metrics Credit Partners

Investec in Australia today announced it had reached agreement to sell its local corporate and acquisition finance (CAF) loan portfolio to Metrics Credit Partners.

Investec Australia CEO and Country Head, Milton Samios, said: “We are pleased with this development as it will ensure local corporates continue to be served by a highly regarded local lender.

“It is a high-quality portfolio, which is a testament to the Investec Corporate Advisory and Finance Team (CAF), led by Simon Beissel, which has built this business over the past 10 years.”

The acquisition will cement Metrics Credit Partners as the country’s leading non-bank corporate lender, with a portfolio exceeding $6.5 billion.

Metrics’ Managing Partner, Andrew Lockhart, welcomed the acquisition, saying it would deliver enhanced investment opportunities for Metrics’ clients.

“This is a great outcome for investors because it will add to the diversity and liquidity across our funds and lead to an uplift in expected total returns. The credit quality of this portfolio is sound and provides a great opportunity to expand our relationship with Australian corporate borrowers.”

The portfolio comprises leveraged finance and fund finance loans to corporates and funds across business services, entertainment, retail, childcare, healthcare, mining services and financial services in Australia.

Investec’s Resource Finance and Project and Infrastructure Finance loan portfolios were not included in the sale process, which was run by the CAF team. This team is shortly to be spun out into a separate independent advisory boutique.

Investec, which has been in Australia for more than 23 years, announced at the end of last year that it was exiting the local market as part of its parent Investec Bank plc move to simplifying and clarifying its business structure.