About Serone

• Founded: 2012

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

• AUM: Approximately $2bn as of 2024

• Strategy: Private credit and special situations lending, European mid-market focus

• Leadership: Founded by Simon Edelsten and Andrew Oakley

Serone has closed a buyout secondaries strategy, marking its first move outside private credit. The firm disclosed no fund size or target return. The launch follows a broader trend of credit managers entering secondaries — Partners Group launched a $6bn secondaries vehicle in 2023, and Ares announced a $3.2bn secondaries fund close in early 2024.

The shift reflects two things. First, LP liquidity demand remains elevated, creating deal flow for new entrants willing to price aggressively. Second, credit managers see secondaries as a natural extension — portfolio companies in distressed credit situations often surface secondary opportunities when sponsor GPs face pressure to exit or restructure. What's unclear is whether Serone will focus on LP portfolio sales or GP-led continuation vehicles. Credit expertise tilts toward the former, where distressed NAV discounts widen buyer-seller gaps. GP-led deals require different skills — asset underwriting, GP relationship management, and co-investment appetite.

The timing suggests Serone sees an opening in sub-$500m transactions, where larger secondaries buyers have pulled back due to deployment pressure. Coller Capital and Lexington Partners have both raised mega-funds exceeding $20bn in the past 18 months, pushing them toward billion-dollar single-asset deals. That leaves mid-market secondaries underserved. If Serone targets LP stakes in European buyout funds — where discounts averaged 8–12% in Q4 2024 per Jefferies data — the credit DNA matters less than speed and pricing discipline. Watch whether the firm staffs up with former secondaries professionals or relies on its existing credit team to cross-train.

Source: Secondaries Investor