Hi all,
You hear a lot about Ares in the US where they're evidently very strong but can't find much on their London office (PE or Credit side). Any thoughts on the strength of these divisions? Culture/Comp? Would an internship/grad role have been something you'd have considered over EB/BB IBD?
Thanks!
| +89 | Nothing to do at work & bored to hell | 9 | 14h |
| +67 | Do people over-index on 'moats' | 22 | 6h |
| +52 | Predicted Net Worth in Trodden Finance Path by 60? | 20 | 14h |
| +44 | Biggest (avoidable) failures in PE Investments? | 25 | 8h |
| +38 | Why is ROIC never really a topic when looking at companies IRL | 11 | 4d |
| +22 | What do you think of PE Value Creation Careers in 2026? | 5 | 2h |
| +19 | Senior IR Lifestyle | 3 | 5d |
| +12 | NY LMM PE Recruiting | 3 | 1d |
| +12 | Honest opinions needed about lateraling | 4 | 2d |
| +12 | How to approach Buyside Recruiting | 3 | 5d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
bump
surely someone knows something about these guys?
Ares Credit is strong in London, one of the blue chip names together with e.g. Highbridge, GSO, GIC etc. that always gets a call.
They do proper tickets, e.g. the £1.3bn pref. in the Morrison's buyout (together with GS). Just read through the corresponding Scheme Document on Morrison's IR website.
Have not come across them in PE myself, but headhunter pitch earlier this year went like this:
-Recently had Stephane Etroy, ex-Partner at Charterhouse and most recently Head of PE at CDPQ join earlier this year to grow London PE presence.
-Team of ~10: UK Principal, German Principal, French VP, Associates, not sure what else
-Firm allocated 30-40% of new fund to Europe [talking about Areas Corporate Opportunities VI]
-Investment focus on UK, French- & German-speaking Europe
-Core sector focus of industrials, business services, healthcare and consumer
-Mandate is flexible (across cap structure, special sits if appropriate, traditional mid-to large cap buyouts)
-Did a European healthcare deal in Q1, havent followed since
Overall seems like a "growth" opportunity with limited downside risk given the platform strength, certainly attractive assuming you hit it off with the team (culture will be important given its fairly few people at this stage). That being said, I am not familiar with their PE returns, and their most recent fundraising seems to be pretty slow..they seem to be in the market with Fund VI for over 18 months now..
Hope that helps
Their ACOF returns aren't super stellar. My firms FOF platform cut the line a fund ago.
However if their special opportunities funds have a presence in London, that looks like it will be a really good franchise with strong leadership. Scott Graves (former PM of Oaktree's flagship opportunities funds and other credit vehicles) is the overarching global head. They just did a really interesting pref for McLaren and raised their fund II super quickly. Note I'm US based so not clear if this franchise has a London outpost or if its just LA.
Thanks a lot for the detailed response, this is very helpful!
Did you actually go ahead with the process ?
Thoughts on their historical performance? It looks like they even had to downsize fund 6 (smaller than fund 5)? Also with their approach towards growth-focused, presumably that won't be a great idea in the upcoming cycle?
Also any insights on comp and/or general culture/WLB?
bump
del
Well summer 2023 is the inaugural internship so there’s no precedent
Bump
Aut reiciendis voluptatibus et cumque dolores dolorem inventore. Non praesentium quasi adipisci maxime dignissimos ut consectetur. Ea magnam molestiae necessitatibus.
Vero voluptas delectus dicta tempore sed adipisci soluta eligendi. Rerum quibusdam corporis voluptas quos quaerat omnis cumque.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...