Arini fund down over 8% after Aston Martin, Altice losses

London-based Arini Capital Management’s master fund has fallen more than 8% year-to-date after concentrated, leveraged debt positions in distressed issuers produced heavy losses in July and August. People familiar with the firm’s performance reported the master fund lost nearly 8% in July and about 1% in August.

The July losses were driven mainly by exposure to Altice International. Its bonds fell sharply after valuable assets were shifted outside the collateral available to creditors. The fund was also affected by developments at Aston Martin, where naming and branding rights were moved beyond the reach of creditors owed more than £1.3 billion, prompting a drop in the carmaker’s bonds.

Arini’s flagship strategy focuses on distressed and high-yield debt, often using leverage and taking large creditor stakes in stressed companies. The firm was founded in 2021 by former Credit Suisse high-yield trader Hamza Lemssouguer and grew its assets to about $22 billion.

Performance at the flagship fund follows earlier years of gains. According to people familiar with the figures, the fund returned 27% in 2023, 21% in 2024 and 10% in the most recent full year reported. The strategy previously lost roughly 8% over two months in early 2024 before gaining about 29% over the subsequent year. After launching in 2022 the fund recorded a roughly 15% decline over several months and delivered an overall return of about 73% across its first four years.

Some of Arini’s other strategies have performed differently this year. People familiar with the numbers said the credit opportunities fund is up about 12% year-to-date and the direct lending strategy has returned roughly 7%. The firm also operates an asset-backed finance strategy.

According to people familiar with the firm’s performance, the recent losses stem from concentrated single-name exposures where creditor recoveries were affected by asset transfers and restructuring steps.