Private credit

Risk warning

The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and an investor may get back less than the amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future results.

A range of advantages

Private and alternative credit offer investors the potential for higher yield and lower risk, relative to similarly rated public bonds. Furthermore, exposure to economic drivers generally not available in the public credit markets can result in significant diversification benefits.

ESG is at the heart of our process

ESG is central to our investment capabilities. We look to deliver robust financial outcomes for our clients – as well as actively contributing to a fairer, more sustainable world. We focus on understanding the ESG risks and opportunities of our investments alongside other financial metrics to make better investment decisions and produce superior risk-adjusted returns for our clients.

Our capabilities

abrdn offers clients access to the major areas of Europe private credit, including commercial real estate debt, infrastructure debt, corporate private debt and fund financing among other areas.

What we offer our clients

Commercial Real Estate Debt

Commercial real estate debt finances property across a range of sectors including office, industrial and retail, with security provided by the property itself.

Infrastructure Debt

Infrastructure debt finances social and economic projects which often have monopoly-like characteristics, providing investors with uncorrelated, high quality cash flows.

Corporate Debt

Private corporate lending can take many forms. Large corporates sometimes prefer to borrow privately to circumvent the constraints of public market issuance, and loans to mid-size corporates.

Fund Finance

We provide credit facilities to private equity funds so that they can bridge investment requirements without having to draw capital from their investors. The benefits across stakeholders include operational efficiency, enhanced internal-rate-of-returns (IRRs) and, in turn, less negative returns in the early years of an investment.

Meet the team

Neil Odom Haslett

Head of Private Credit

Neil joined the company in 2013 and has worked in the industry for more than 30 years. He started his career with NatWest and subsequently worked for a number of international banks, including Fortis, Eurohypo, RBS and Deutsche Pfandbrief Bank, where he was the only non-German domiciled person to be given the powers of a voting member of the credit committee.

Neil has extensive experience in both originating and restructuring in the UK and Europe. This has provided ample opportunity to both initiate new relationships with borrowers and maintain good working relationships in more challenging restructuring situations. Neil is also President of the Association of Property Lenders (the UK lending representative body) and has four years’ investment experience at abrdn, and over 30 years’ in the industry. Neil is also an associate at the Associate of the Institute of Bankers.

Martin Barnewell

Head of Commercial Real Estate Lending

Martin joined the company in 2014, bringing over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate and lending. Before this, he worked at Allied Irish Bank and later at Anglo Irish Bank, where he was responsible for the origination, underwriting and management of commercial real estate debt working in both the Dublin and Chicago offices. In 2012, Martin joined Capita Asset Services as Head of Client Relations, based in London, where he was responsible for the management of a portfolio of over £40billion of syndicated and securitised loans. He holds a Bachelor of Business and Law from University College Dublin.

Jeremy Allcock

Head of Infrastructure Debt

Jeremy is the Head of the Infrastructure Debt Team with responsibility for sourcing, analysing and managing illiquid debt opportunities within agreed policy and mandate frameworks.

Prior to joining the company in September 2014, Jeremy was Head of the Public Sector Team at Nationwide Building Society. Whilst at Nationwide, his primary areas of focus had been in Infrastructure (primarily PFI) and Social Housing where he has over 20 years of experience. Jeremy has four years’ investment experience at abrdn and 36 years’ experience in banking & finance.

At Nationwide Building Society, Jeremy was personally involved in writing in excess of £1bn loans and led the Infrastructure team from inception to a book approaching £3bn at its peak. Deals sourced included some of the first PFI hospitals; the first gearing of an infrastructure fund; the first PFI Housing transaction and the first multi-authority procured street lighting project. 36 years in industry; 4 years at abrdn. Jeremy is also an associate at the Associate of the Institute of Bankers.

Shelley Morrison

Senior Investment Director

Shelley Morrison is a Senior Investment Director in Fund Financing at abrdn with extensive experience in the origination, structuring and execution of fund level debt facilities. She has been with the company since 2019. Before joining the company Shelley was a Relationship Director in the Fund Finance team at RBS for 6 years where she managed a portfolio of subscription loans, NAV loans and GP finance to global funds across Private Equity, Private Debt, Infrastructure and Real estate. Prior to that, she worked in structured asset finance at RBS and Lloyds for 10 years, with a focus on commercial ship finance. Shelley received a first class honours degree in Geography and an MSc in Social and Political Theory, both from the University of Edinburgh.

Real estate

Infrastructure

Individual

Financial advisors and wealth managers

Institutional

Private Credit