Pemberton, an alternative credit specialist, has raised $1 billion for its working capital finance (WCF) strategy.

The WCF strategy invests in receivables, payables and inventory financings for large and mid-market companies in both the U.S. and in Europe through an open-ended fund structure. The companies Pemberton invests in span a wide range of sectors, with a focus on IT and food businesses.

Demand for working capital financing has grown strongly. Banks remain the dominant players in the market, but Pemberton believes institutional capital has an increasingly important role to play in several segments of the market that are underserved by the banking community.

“This milestone demonstrates growing LP interest in working capital finance and its ability to offer compelling returns in volatile market conditions,” Mark Hickey, head of working capital finance at Pemberton, said. “We believe non-bank capital will play an increasingly important role in short-term corporate financing and that the investments we have made in our team and our proprietary technology platform will enable us to grow the strategy to over $10bn AuM over the next five years.”

“Our Working Capital Finance strategy extends Pemberton’s range of investment strategies to include short-term corporate credit,” Symon Drake-Brockman, managing partner at Pemberton, said. “It leverages our core strengths as a fundamental credit manager, whilst providing our LPs with another complement to our established direct lending strategies.”