Kirkoswald Asset Management, the hedge fund firm led by 'Wizard of Oz' Greg Coffey, is venturing into the private credit sector for the first time by providing a $20m senior secured loan to Turkish textiles exporter Altinyildiz, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The reports cites a joint statement from both companies as highlighting that the five-year koan from the newly-launched Kirkoswald Private Credit Fund is the first offshore private credit deal in Altinyildiz's more-than-70-year history.

Best known for its liquid macro trading strategy, Kirkoswald is expanding its $8bn investment portfolio into the $1.7tn private credit market as part of a diversification strategy, joining a growing list of firms to do so including: Diameter Capital Partners, DWS Group, Pacific Investment Management Co, PGIM and T Rowe Price Group.

As well as private credit, Coffey's plan to transform Kirkoswald into an emerging-markets and macro-investing platform included acquiring Emso Asset Management and the launch of a new strategy that offers clients daily liquidity and complies with the European Union’s UCITS Directive.

Last year, Kirkoswald hired Alex von Sponeck and Simon Watt as portfolio managers for its private credit fund, which operates separately from Kirkoswald’s main macro hedge fund.