A pattern is hard to miss across the capital's alternative investment scene this year: senior real estate and credit professionals are leaving established giants for firms still scaling up in Europe, and the firms doing the poaching are willing to create brand-new senior roles to land the right person. Sixth Street illustrated the approach recently by bringing on former UK intelligence chief Sir Richard Moore as a senior strategist, part of a deliberate build-out of its European bench.
The mechanics rarely come down to pay alone. Firms expanding into Europe need credibility with institutional allocators and someone who already holds the sponsor and lender relationships to deploy capital fast. A newly created role, rather than a slot in an existing team, signals a function being built from scratch, with the latitude to shape strategy rather than simply execute it.
Garden leave is the overlooked detail worth watching. Senior hires often sit on six-to-twelve-month non-competes, so an appointment announced today may not translate into real buying power for months, a gap that explains why a firm's stated ambitions can lag its actual deal activity.
Capital sizing is the backdrop. Sixth Street closed its Third European Direct Lending Fund at €3.75bn this year, part of a wider trend of US-headquartered managers raising dedicated European vehicles rather than deploying global funds opportunistically. That committed capital creates real urgency to hire.
For sponsors, the signal is clear: expect more active asset management, not less, as new hires look to justify the seniority they were brought in for. Blackstone, with the deepest bench in the industry, remains the most common departure point as rivals build out their platforms.
Companies mentioned:
- Sixth Street – Global investment firm expanding its European real estate and credit platform
- Blackstone – World's largest alternative asset manager
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