Private credit market surges with record investments of US$9.0 billion in H1 2025: EY Private Credit Report

• H1 2025 saw record high private credit investments reaching US$9.0 billion, marking a 53% jump from US$5.9 billion in H1 2024
• Infrastructure sector gained the highest allocation from the private credit funds followed by real estate and healthcare sectors. 
• Majority of respondents continue to remain bullish about the prospects of private credit though with an increase in competitive intensity according to the EY Private Credit Pulse Survey July 2025.

Mumbai, 18 August 2025 – Private credit investments in India reached US$9.0 billion in H1 2025, reflecting a 53% increase from H1 2024 and nearly three times H2 2024 levels according to EY’s latest Private Credit Report: H1 2025. This was led by a landmark deal by Porteast Investments (Shapoorji Pallonji Group company) worth US$3.1 billion, accounted for the entire versus H1 2024.

Excluding this, deal flow still reflected healthy momentum, driven by stable interest rate expectations and gaps left by banks in sectors like infrastructure and real estate. Global funds remained the dominant players in the private credit market, while domestic funds focused on mid-market and opportunistic deals.

Private credit deal activity in H1 2025 showed a steady but notable uptick, shaped by evolving dynamics in the broader credit ecosystem. Around 17% of the capital raised during this period was channelled into growth capital, capacity expansion, and strategic acquisitions of companies, equity stakes or land acquisition.  Thereby signalling a cautious revival in business confidence.

In H1 2025 larger private credit deals with transactions over US$100 million made up 18% of total count and 80% of the total deal value. Key deals include US$ 3.1 billion raised by the Shapoorji Pallonji for refinancing, US$ 750 million secured by Adani Group, US$ 733 million obtained by GMR Infra Enterprises to refinance their existing debt and US$600 million raised by Manipal Education and Medical Group for growth funding.

Vishal Bansal, Partner, Debt and Special Situations, EY India said, “While credit growth of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCB) has been moderating in the past few months, the private credit market has gained strong momentum, the deal activity in H1 2025 surged to US$9.0 billion, led by one record-breaking transaction done by SP Group. As public sector banks and NBFCs retreat from large-ticket exposures, private funds are stepping in to fill funding gaps, especially in structured and event-driven opportunities. Global funds have regained dominance, anchoring complex deals, while domestic credit funds continue to tap mid-market and opportunistic spaces. The report puts a spotlight on potential for secondary market for private credit in India, provides insights on the private capex outlook, and includes perspective of family offices on private credit by the Founder & CEO of a leading wealth advisory firm. This edition, like previous ones, features a deep dive into select private credit cases, offering a glimpse into the sector and deal sizes concluded over the past six months.”

Macroeconomic backdrop

In FY25, India’s real GDP grew at 6.5% backed by resilient services and robust fiscal spending. Global growth forecasts have seen a slight downward revision through H1 2025, with the IMF and OECD now projecting global GDP growth at 2.8% and 3.1% for the year, respectively. India’s GDP growth for FY25 came in at 6.5%, bolstered by a robust 7.4% expansion in Q4FY25—the strongest quarterly performance since the previous fiscal year. The second advance estimates released by MoSPI also peg FY25’s real GDP growth at 6.5%, with early projections for FY26 in the 6.3–6.5% range, underpinned by a stable inflation outlook and strong fiscal support in the opening months of the year.

Inflationary pressures eased notably in H1 2025. CPI inflation declined consistently from 4.3% in January to 2.8% in May—its lowest reading in over six years, primarily driven by a drop in vegetable and food prices.

India stepped into 2025 with renewed macroeconomic resilience, as global disinflation, lower crude oil prices, and an accommodative monetary environment helped buffer external shocks. Credit growth moderated during the first half of the year, with SCB lending rising by 11% YoY and the credit impulse slipping slightly into negative territory, reflecting lingering risk aversion and a lag in the transmission of monetary easing. The RBI’s rollback of risk weights for lending to NBFCs and CRR reductions have helped ease liquidity constraints, but the demand recovery has been mixed,strong among MSMEs and services, yet tepid in unsecured retail and large corporate segments.

Dinkar Venkatasubramanian, Partner and Head – Debt and Special Situations, EY India said, “With easing inflation, stable macro conditions, and a cautious rate cutting cycle underway, India’s credit landscape is evolving rapidly. Capital flows into private credit remains strong with increasing participation across investor types and deal sizes. Global funds regained dominance in large, structured deals, while domestic platforms remained active in mid-market and special situations. With continued traction across infrastructure, real estate, and healthcare, private credit is now a key pillar of India’s growth story and is well-positioned to expand further in the years ahead.”

Optimism for future investment opportunities: EY Private Credit Pulse Survey

The July 2025 EY Private Credit Pulse Survey, reveals half of the respondents targeted IRR of 12% to 18% while other 50% between 18% to 24%. Fund managers continue to rank Real Estate as the highest deal flow, but also as the riskiest. Nearly 90% respondents expect private credit investments to remain bullish over the next 2-5 years.  While 50% of the respondents view dedicated secondaries funds as strategically important but premature given the nascent deal flow, 27% believe the market is already ready driven by growing demand and increasing transaction volume. This is an indicator to a shift toward enhanced liquidity and a more mature private credit ecosystem.

Notes to Editors

About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform, and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data, and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law were prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients.