Secondaries are moving fast from niche to mainstream in private credit as investment heavyweights like Blackstone are betting on this still-nascent market.

The alternative asset manager is aiming to expand its presence in private credit secondaries and is considering a dedicated pool of capital to acquire second-hand private credit funds, according to 9fin sources.

The move would mark a shift from its current strategy of accessing the market through flagship private equity vehicles, said the sources. Blackstone declined to comment.

In Europe, Partners Group and Generali Investments launched a joint private credit secondaries fund in May. A few weeks later, private markets investor Pantheon announced it had closed its new fund at $5.2bn, targeting senior credit secondaries across both LP- and GP-led deals.

London-based secondaries specialist Coller Capital announced on Tuesday (8 July) it has raised $6.8bn for its new private credit platform. It follows the firm’s $1.4bn debut, previously the largest private credit secondaries fund on record, according to a press release.

Not only is there more demand for secondary transactions as private credit attracts an ever-increasing flow of capital. There’s also more supply, with fund managers scrambling to return funds to investors and, in some cases, holding on to assets for longer than expected.

"2025 transaction volume growth has been largely fuelled by a rising number of sizeable continuation vehicle opportunities," Sebastien Burdel, partner at Ares Management, told 9fin. "We have also witnessed an increase in LP-led transactions, facilitating improved pricing that is attractive to limited partners."