Haymarket Financial Forms As New Mid-Market Lender

LONDON (Reuters) – A UK-based lender set up by former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Merrill Lynch bankers launched on Monday to provide financing for medium-sized European firms for deals, restructuring or growth from $700 million of capital.

Haymarket Financial, founded earlier this year, is led by former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Flynn and majority backed by private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners.

The company said other investors include Public Sector Pension Investment Board and OMERS Private Equity.

“HayFin’s core objective is to provide growth capital, acquisition capital and restructuring capital in order to address the financing gap faced by medium-sized companies in the UK and Europe,” the company said.

Pressure on banks to rebuild their balance sheets, increased regulatory requirements and the exit of some lenders is likely to keep the supply of funding “constrained for some time to come”, it said.

HayFin also has a proprietary investment business and manages money on behalf of institutional clients.

It will be targeting firms with a market value of 75 million euros ($110 million) to 250 million euros. It has made three loans and said it may “conservatively” leverage its equity.

Flynn, who will be chief executive, co-headed Goldman’s European leveraged finance and acquisition finance businesses.

Steve Zander, chief investment officer, spent seven years at Merrill Lynch, where he was most recently global co-head of the loan & distressed trading business. ($1=.6818 euros) (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Mike Nesbit)