Our fondness for colorful metaphors led us, in our 2016 series, to compare European direct lending to Burger King’s new hot dog venture. The burger giant’s thesis was to apply “sixty years of flaming-grilling expertise,“ but also recognized they’d have to “chop the onions a little differently.”  

Apparently, hamburger prowess didn’t translate to frankfurters. They were pulled off the menu six months later.   

Similarly, there are fundamental differences between US and European private credit markets. A recent survey in Private Debt Investor showed only 22% of private equity sponsors favored unitranche solutions, preferring bank loans instead....