Europe Insights & Outlook Report: 1Q26 volume rises 16% YoY to €16.7B
Apr 30, 2026, 1:00 AM GMT-4 | By DLDInside this quarter's Europe Insights & Outlook Report:
First-quarter direct lending issuance reached €16.7 billion, the strongest start to a year since KBRA DLD launched the European Private Dataset in 2023.
Proceeds: Buyout loan volume totalled €5.1 billion for a 31% share, down from €5.3 billion and 37% a year earlier.
Spreads by EBITDA: Lower Middle Market spreads tightened to a dataset low, as did issuers with more than $20 million of EBITDA.
Leverage: Total leverage tightened across EBITDA segments.
Yields: Sterling yields fell under 10% for the first time within the dataset. Euro loans are flirting with sub-8% yields for the first time amid compression across spreads and OIDs.
Defaults: The default rate within the KBRA DLD Europe Index ended 2025 at 1%, slightly under DLD's 2025 forecast of 1.25% by volume. The 2026 forecast is flat, at 1%.