Macfarlanes has advised European corporate special situations investor Alchemy on its latest fund, Alchemy Special Opportunities Fund V (ASOF V), which has closed in excess of its initial fundraising target with €1bn in capital commitments.

Consistent with Alchemy's past funds, the new fund will target European mid-market corporate special situations, focused on generating strong risk-adjusted returns via special situations investments across the capital structure. 

The fund attracted support from a strong group of institutional investors including private and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, consultants and family offices from across the globe. The investor base is also geographically diverse, with commitments from North America (c45%), Europe (c30%), and Asia-Pacific (c25%).

A long-standing client of the firm, Macfarlanes has acted for Alchemy on both raising capital and downstream investments, with recent transactions including investment in Apollo Group Holdings Limited, the sale of Inn Collection Group, the acquisition of Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie Bar Co and the strategic partnership between Lebara and Waterland Private Equity.

The Macfarlanes team was led by private funds partner Christopher Good with assistance from senior associate Benjamin Pape and associate Umar Jamil. Tax advice was provided by partner James McCredie and senior associate George Apps with partner Andrew Perkins and senior counsel Chris Barrett from Macfarlanes' finance team also assisting.