We are thrilled to have been included in Private Debt Investor’s “30 Changemakers who helped shape private debt”. Whilst Paul Burdell has collected the award on behalf of LCM, we know that it’s a team effort, and everyone at LCM has played a part in this selection. Private Debt Investor’s “The Decade” publication looked back on 10 years of extraordinary growth for the asset class and selected pivotal figures who have played a part in private debt’s evolution.

Please see an extract below:

With annual deployment now reaching north of $100 billion and the size of some individual loans now in excess of the $1 billion mark, private debt has truly come of age. But, from its cottage industry origins prior to the global financial crisis, the remarkable growth of the asset class would not have happened without the equally remarkable contributions of some of its leading figures.

In pulling together this collection of 30 of the industry’s “Changemakers”, we have drawn upon some of our prior rankings, such as “Most Influential” and “Women of Influence”, but have added some new names as well. Of course, with an almost unlimited number of contenders, it’s not possible to be scientific in our assessment of who belongs on the list and who doesn’t. Nonetheless, we have striven to make the list as credible as possible, while recognising a range of different types of achievement.

So what qualifies anyone for “Changemaker” status? Again, there’s little room for science but plenty for imagination and flexibility. It might involve driving forward an area of speciality finance (such as maritime or consumer loans), developing cutting-edge approaches to ESG, or being the LP that decided to place private debt firmly at the heart of strategic allocations. All these examples and plenty more are represented in our top 30.

For the full article and to see all of the 30 Changemakers, please click here.

Paul Burdell | CEO, LCM Partners

A US national, Burdell was at the forefront of bringing consumer and SME loan investment on a huge scale to the European market through Link Financial Group and LCM Partners, which, through an impressive servicing infrastructure, manages around 4,700 portfolios, according to its website. But Burdell has made his mark in other ways too, as a senior advisor the European Central Bank from 2008-2016 on its ABS Loan Level initiative, and as architect and co-founder of the European Data Warehouse.

Formerly an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase, he went on to form Octagon Group, one of Europe’s largest distressed corporate debt investors, in 1987. Burdell’s wife, Selina, LCM’s co-founder, was a PDI Woman of Influence in 2021.

Paul Burdell, CEO of LCM Partners, said:

“I would like to dedicate this award, to all the hardworking women and men that make up our group and have done for the past 25 years. Thank you.”