Hamza Lemssouguer's Arini Capital Management, a London-based hedge fund, saw its flagship fund fall by approximately 8% in July. This significant setback was primarily attributed to several credit positions moving against the manager, particularly debt linked to Aston Martin Lagonda. The luxury carmaker secured a $750 million financing package from HPS Investment Partners, which effectively bypassed existing bondholders, including a creditor group led by Arini, causing the affected debt to decline and negatively impacting the hedge fund's performance. Additionally, Arini suffered losses on equity tranches of credit-default swaps related to Virgin Media debt.
This July decline represents a notable reversal for Lemssouguer, who is known for his concentrated, high-conviction trades. After generating around a 70% return since its launch in 2022, the fund's performance had already weakened towards the end of 2025, recording losses in the final four months. Through June 2026, the flagship fund had only gained 1.37%, meaning the July loss wiped out much of that progress. The broader European leveraged-loan market was relatively flat in July, returning just 0.09%, its weakest monthly performance since March.
The challenging period has also led to senior departures within Arini's team. Gavin Yates, head of US investments and New York office, left the firm, following Ben Elliott's earlier departure this year. James Howard, Arini's first chief risk officer, also departed several months prior. Despite these challenges, Arini manages about $21 billion in assets and reportedly saw a recovery in August, with its master fund up about 3.5% and its Credit Opportunities Fund up 12.5% for the year.
