Shipping finance stalwart Tobias Backer said he did not doubt in his mind his next move when considering leaving Fleetscape Capital.
The new executive director of Pelagic Partners’ new credit fund venture in London set up Oaktree Capital Management-sponsored alternative financier Fleetscape in 2017.
“My obligation to Oaktree was winding down. I was released from my non-compete agreement with Oaktree in June,” he told TradeWinds.
And Backer explained that he and Pelagic Partners founders Atef Abou Merhi and Niels Hartmann “go back quite a while”.
The new Pelagic Capital boss said: “I’ve known them for over a decade and stayed in touch. I’ve been following from afar what they’ve been doing.”
The Cypriot company has built up equity funds and now wants to spread its wings into new finance markets.
“What I’ve been doing, both at Fleetscape and at Icon Capital before that, neatly fits in with what they want to build,” Backer said.
“We’ve been speaking for a while and the timing kind of worked out,” he added.
Backer explained that he took some time to think about what came next.
“Who’s the best partner to team up with to build a strategy further? And it’s quite obvious that with what Niels and Atef have built, this is the right place to develop the product,” he told TradeWinds.
Leaving investors happy
Asked if it was a hard decision to leave Fleetscape, he said: “It’s been a while. It’s been very successful.
“Investors are very happy. But at the end of the day, I think if you want to be successful in this space, you have to have a dedicated strategy,” Backer added.
“I think the release in June allowed me to really look across the market and think about what’s the best way forward.”
“It was quite obvious that Pelagic was the right place to go,” the new director told TradeWinds.
And staying in London was vital.
“For what I do, specifically for credit investment, London has become even more [important] than before — the hub for maritime investment, specifically for credit funds,” he explained.
“I spent most of my career in New York, but I moved to London five years ago, as I saw the market shift,” Backer said.
“Part of the reason we’re going to have an office in London is I probably have on average one or two meetings a day, just people visiting London for various reasons. They may not be visiting me, but they’re in town for some reason related to capital,” he added.
Newbuildings will be important in the shipowning mix, Backer explained.
“We definitely want to be part of the energy transition, because it’s the right thing to do,” the boss told TradeWinds.
“But it’s also a tremendous capital need. So in some ways, it’s easier for us. We’re doing the right thing, and we’re meeting the funding needs of the investors,” Backer said.
Abou Merhi, managing director of Pelagic Partners, said the launch of Pelagic Capital marked a significant step in the group’s ongoing mission to expand its influence as a shipowner and within the maritime investment space.
“We are delighted to welcome Tobias Backer to lead in this exciting phase in Pelagic Partner’s growth,” he added.
“Tobias brings 30 years of diversified experience with him, which is invaluable within our industry, and we look forward to working together to continue to grow Pelagic Partners’ position as diverse specialists within maritime investment,” Abou Merhi said.
“Tobias and Pelagic Partners have a long-standing personal relationship, and we are pleased to turn that trust into a long-lasting professional one,” he added.
