London credit investor Arini Capital Management’s flagship fund has suffered losses of almost 16 per cent this year, after enduring a string of soured bets on the debt of financially troubled companies. Arini, one of Europe’s fastest-growing credit hedge funds, experienced estimated losses of 7.6 per cent in September in its master fund, taking its year-to-date losses to 15.7 per cent. September was the third consecutive month of losses for the largest fund of the $22bn-in-assets credit specialist.
Arini has large positions in the debt of struggling telecommunications companies Altice International and Brightspeed, as well as owning Aston Martin bonds that suffered when the British luxury-car maker moved some of its most valuable assets out of creditors’ reach. Top-ranking bonds at Altice International are now trading at less than half of their face value, as restructuring negotiations continue with the group’s owner, Patrick Drahi.
Hamza Lemssouguer, a 36-year-old former star trader at Credit Suisse who established Arini in 2021, has developed a reputation for taking concentrated bets on the debt of troubled companies and employing leverage to boost potential returns. The hedge fund’s high-octane strategy has previously yielded outsized returns, earning investors a return of 73 per cent over its first four years. Arini declined to comment.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing