Debtwire Direct Lending Awards

The Debtwire Direct Lending Awards return for their fifth edition, recognising the top-performing European direct lending funds and regional direct lending managers. With 21 award categories, join us as we celebrate the industry’s top achievers and highlight the deals that shaped the market. 

Awards Categories:

There are four types of awards categories with different methods of entry and judging:

1. Shortlisted Awards - These are based on the Debtwire European Direct Lender Rankings. View the 2026 shortlist here.Shortlisted firms are invited to submit a 300-word pitch to Yulianna.Hovoradlo@iongroup.com. Deadline for submissions is 24 April. Our expert panel of judges will review the submissions and league tables and determine our winners.
2. Fund of the Year Awards - European direct lenders can nominate their active funds for the Large-Cap, Mid-Market, and Small-Cap Direct Lending Fund of the Year categories by completing this form. Deadline for submissions is 6 May. The submitted data will determine the winners.
3. Deal of the Year Awards - Any European direct lender can nominate their firm for the Large-Cap, Mid-Market, and Small-Cap Direct Lending Deal of the Year categories by submitting a 300-word pitch to Yulianna.Hovoradlo@iongroup.com. Deadline for submissions is 24 April. Our expert panel of judges will determine the winners. Please see below for further details for this category.
4. Manager of the Year Awards - The Large-Cap, Mid-Market, and Small-Cap Direct Lending Manager of the Year shortlist is determined from Debtwire data. Shortlisted firms are invited to submit a 300-word pitch to Yulianna.Hovoradlo@iongroup.com. Deadline for submissions is 24 April. The winner in each category will be selected using both a public vote and input from our judges. Details of the public vote will be released soon. 

The Process:

We recognise deals completed between 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025.

How are shortlists created?

We carefully analyse the Debtwire European Direct Lender Rankings to identify the standout direct lenders in each category. Once the shortlist is finalised, each firm is invited to submit a 300-word pitch showcasing their achievements.

How are winners for the shortlisted awards and deal of the year awards selected?

A panel of private credit experts and industry veterans reviews the submissions, assessing each pitch alongside Debtwire's league table data. Judges deliberate to determine the winners based on measurable performance and industry impact.

Judges will receive the following data for each nominee:

• League table ranking for the category
• Overall deal count for the nominated category 

How to Write a Winning Pitch

Click here for guidance on crafting a compelling pitch.

Deal of the Year Awards:

There are three Deal of the Year awards, self-nominated by you – the direct lenders. Everyone who submits a pitch is then considered for shortlisting by our judging panel. 

• Direct lending deal of the year – Large-cap (>$/€200m of total debt / >$/€50m EBITDA)
• Direct lending deal of the year – Mid-market ($/€40m-$/€200m of debt / $/€10m-50m EBITDA)
• Direct lending deal of the year – Small-cap (<$/€40m of debt / <$/€10m EBITDA)
  

Criteria for the Deal of the Year awards:

• Must be a direct-lending deal
• Cannot include add-ons; must be a new deployment
• Transaction executed between 1 January and 31 December 2025
• Can be sponsored or non-sponsor-backed direct-lending deal

What we need from you:

Submit a 300-word pitch to Yulianna.Hovoradlo@iongroup.com. The judges want to know why you deserve to win. An ideal pitch will show how you added value to deal processes, supported clients and offered creative solutions to complex situations. Explain why the deal(s) were so important and what you did as a direct lender to get them across the line.

The pitch is then handed to our judges who will review all the entries received, compare it with our league table data and debate who deserves to be shortlisted and ultimately win. The judges are asked to ignore any reference to non-Debtwire awards and rankings, and deals that don’t meet our criteria for inclusion in Debtwire database.

The pitches are treated as confidential documents. However, please clearly mark any previously undisclosed information as “confidential.”