Prefequity
A boutique London fund providing flexible debt-based growth capital of £5m to £25m to profitable regional businesses, with a first fund of £100m fully invested and a second raising.
What they do
Prefequity lends structured debt to established, profitable UK companies, typically with £2m to £10m of EBITDA, for growth, acquisitions and management buyouts. Its first fund raised £100m, is fully invested and has produced four exits; a second fund is targeting £150m. The portfolio is deliberately spread across the nations and regions, from Tamworth and Hereford to Yorkshire, Birmingham and Brighton, and the team requires UK headquarters and UK-based senior management. Sector preference is towards businesses with sticky, non-discretionary revenue.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
This is a regional lower-mid-market lender in a market where most funds cluster in London and the South East. For an owner-managed business outside those markets raising £5m to £15m without a private-equity sponsor, it is one of a short list of institutional options, and the boutique team means direct access to the people who decide.
Where they are not the fit
Pre-profit companies and highly discretionary or cyclical sectors are off strategy. The floor of £5m puts the bottom of a £3–15m raise out of scope. Pricing is not published, and as with any fund it will sit above bank senior debt.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Not published
- Speed to terms
- Not published
- EBITDA floor
- From about £2m
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Positions as a debt-based alternative to private equity, backing owner-managed or management-led businesses directly (MBOs, acquisitions, growth). No evidence of a sponsor-led origination model; corporate/management-team facing
- Where they lend
- UK-wide, explicit focus on 'the UK's Nations and regions'; UK HQ and UK-based senior management required. Portfolio spans Tamworth, London, Hereford, Brighton, Birmingham, Yorkshire
- How they decide
- Investment Committee-led; London-based direct lender, boutique team of ~6
As published by the lender and last reviewed August 2026. Terms quoted on a deal are set by the credit, not by a published band.
What rules a deal out
Stated limits, taken from Prefequity’s own published criteria. A limit is where a lender starts from, not where it always ends: several of these move on a strong enough credit.
- UK headquarters and senior management must be based in the UK (international sales/operations acceptable)
- Targets owner-managed or management-led businesses; management must be tied into the business long term
- Preference for stable cash flows from 'sticky' revenue and sectors driven by non-discretionary spend
- Published ticket floor is 5m GBP; upper end 25m GBP sits above the 3-15m LMM debt band
- No appetite in no published exclusion list
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling is £25m; 18 of the 46 private-credit funds here go at least as high.
- Like 31 of the 46, it publishes no indicative price — a margin comes from a conversation, not a page.
Counted across the 46 private-credit & direct-lending funds in this directory, on what each one publishes. What a lender discloses and what it will do are different things.
Questions this page answers
How large a facility does Prefequity write?
Published facilities run £5m to £25m. It looks for EBITDA from about £2m. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
Does Prefequity lend to companies without a private-equity sponsor?
Yes. Prefequity lends to owner-managed and corporate borrowers, and publishes no private-equity sponsor proposition.
Where does Prefequity lend?
UK-wide, explicit focus on 'the UK's Nations and regions'; UK HQ and UK-based senior management required. Portfolio spans Tamworth, London, Hereford, Brighton, Birmingham, Yorkshire.
What does Prefequity lend?
The published product set is flexible debt-based growth capital. Published sector focus is advertising, business services, construction, education, financial services.
Sources
This profile is a curated reference note drawn from public sources, not financial advice or a recommendation. Appetite and terms change; a lender's fit for a given credit is established by approaching it, not inferred from a page.