Arini hedge fund falls 8% in July as credit bets turn sour
Hamza Lemssouguer’s Arini Capital Management suffered a sharp setback in July, with its flagship hedge fund falling about 8% after several credit positions moved against the London-based manager, according to a report by Bloomberg citing unnamed people familiar with the results.
Arini Capital Management, a London-based hedge fund led by Hamza Lemssouguer, experienced a significant decline of approximately 8% in July as credit positions turned negative, according to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed industry sources. The losses stemmed from several credit positions moving against the firm, following Arini's involvement in a £550m financing deal for Aston Martin Lagonda earlier in the month.
This transaction circumvented existing bondholders, including a creditor group led by Arini, resulting in reduced value for those affected and negatively impacting the hedge fund's performance. Additionally, Arini suffered from losses on equity tranches of credit-default swaps providing protection against losses on Virgin Media debt.
The July decline marks a stark contrast to Lemssouguer's reputation as one of Europe's leading distressed and special-situations credit investors, who has earned notoriety for taking high-conviction trades that can yield substantial gains but also substantial losses when markets turn against him. Before founding Arini in 2022, Lemssouguer had previously worked at Credit Suisse in the distressed corporate debt division.
Arini quickly established itself as a significant player in Europe's distressed and restructuring markets, generating a 70% return since its inception, although its performance dipped slightly in the latter half of 2025, with the flagship fund recording losses in the final quarter. Notably, the July losses wiped out much of the fund's positive year-to-date progress, as the flagship fund only gained 1.37% through June.
Interestingly, other Arini strategies performed relatively better, with its master fund up by 3.5% in August and the Credit Opportunities Fund, which focuses on market dislocations and bespoke financing transactions, up by 12.5% for the year. Despite this mixed performance, Arini continues to expand rapidly, currently managing around $21bn in assets for investors including Squarepoint Capital.
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