Private equity-owned firm Highbridge Principal Strategies has completed the acquisition of CIT Vendor Finance UK for an undisclosed amount, according to a release.

Highbridge Principal Strategies is a subsidiary of Highbridge Capital Management and J P Morgan Asset Management.

As part of the acquisition, Highbridge Principal Strategies has incorporated CIT Vendor Finance into its newly-created Pan European Asset Company ("PEAC"), a platform established to consolidate asset finance businesses and portfolios across the European SME lending space.

Leasing Life understands that CIT is the first of the acquisitions designed to create and grow PEAC, and Highbridge is potentially acquisitive for further deals, to be funded by the capital from its private equity backers.

The newly formed ‘platform’ is an independent provider of asset financing in the UK, with a client base exceeding 20,000 unique customers, said the release.

PEAC will provide leasing solutions across a broad range of asset classes, from business equipment to plant and machinery. PEAC will offer competitive financing solutions to equipment manufacturers, dealers and distributors through transactions sized between £1,000 and £3 million.

PEAC will focus on expanding its long-standing relationships across more than 250 partners, brokers and vendors in the UK and Europe, and in partnership with Highbridge Principal Strategies, intends to grow its business into alternative asset classes and risk profiles across Europe.