Federated Hermes adds to Private Credit team

Federated Hermes has announced the appointment of Damien Hedderwick as a Director in its Private Credit team. Reporting to the Head of Direct Lending, Laura Vaughan, Damien will be based in London and will work across the Private Credit platform, which includes European and UK direct lending strategies.

 
The focus of the platform is lending to high-quality, non-cyclical small and mid-sized businesses domiciled in Northern Europe, with exclusive co-lending agreements in place with partner banks. In addition, the investment team sources senior-secured and unitranche loans directly through their extensive network of contacts across Europe to provide a uniquely strong origination pipeline.

Damien is responsible for developing business across the Private Credit platform, including deal origination and execution. He has over 15 years’ experience in leveraged finance, including positions at Macquarie Capital, UBS and Credit Suisse, where he was responsible for origination and execution of acquisition and leveraged finance transactions.

Patrick Marshall, Head of Private Credit, Federated Hermes: “The European direct lending market is currently experiencing record transaction flow, with Northern Europe being particularly competitive. Damien’s strong origination and execution capabilities will be an enormous asset to the team and his extensive experience in the mid-market space will help us to further our ambitions. We have built out a best-in-class Private Credit platform at Federated Hermes and we welcome the additional expertise Damien brings to our highly skilled team.”

Steve McGoohan, Managing Director – Private Markets, Federated Hermes: “With the current levels of market uncertainty, we have seen a growing demand for direct lending products from investors looking for safer assets. Our team has a strong track record of investing in senior secured, mid-market loans and Damien’s experience will further strengthen our capabilities.”