Barclays sold £500 million pounds ($744 million) of private equity-backed U.K. leveraged loans to Ares Management, as the British lender speeds up sales of risky assets to boost profitability.
Barclays and money manager Ares also announced a partnership to provide financing to junk-rated U.K. midcap companies, according to a statement Monday. The deal relates to Barclays' corporate bank and doesn't affect its securities unit.
Barclays CEO Jes Staley has accelerated disposals of assets, such as leveraged loans that have high capital requirements, as he moves to restore profit growth at the U.K.'s second-largest lender. The deal follows a similar private equity financing arrangement Royal Bank of Scotland Group made earlier this month with AIG Asset Management (Europe), Hermes Investment Management and M&G Investments.
“This partnership enhances our ability to meet the credit needs of our clients, which continue to expand in a changing market and regulatory environment,” said Michael Dennis, a partner in the Ares direct lending group, in the statement.
Ares has more than $8.4 billion of direct lending assets under management across Europe, according to the statement.
