Private capital firm Double Black Partners has achieved direct authorisation from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), effective from 2 February 2026.
The London firm was incorporated in 2025 by several former leaders of Deutsche Bank's credit investment manager DB Investment Partners (DBIP), after the bank decided to wind down DBIP in 2025. Deutsche Bank had previously announced the DBIP launch in September 2023.
Double Black Partners has permissions related to investments and is a UK MiFID firm, appearing on the FCA register of active firms providing MiFID investment services or activities.
Former DBIP portfolio manager Grzegorz Blicharz has assumed the regulated SMF1 Chief Executive role and is listed as a Partner on the firm's website. At Deutsche Bank, he was responsible for principal investing businesses in distressed and asset-backed strategies.
DBIP's former CEO Raheman Meghji is listed as a Partner on the firm's website and holds an SMF3 Executive Director role. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2003, establishing the bank's European direct lending and opportunistic credit businesses in 2012.
Appu Mundassery served as a portfolio manager at DBIP before launching Double Black as a Partner, holding an SMF3 Executive Director position. He previously spent time at H.I.G. Capital, where he focused on European direct and opportunistic lending.
Geoffrey de Souza has taken on the SMF16 Compliance Oversight and SMF17 Money Laundering Reporting Officer roles. He serves as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. De Souza was previously Global Head of Alternatives Legal at DWS and also worked at Clifford Chance.
