What we advise on

Debt advisory, across the whole capital structure.

We advise on debt only, across the whole capital structure, from senior facilities to junior capital.

Contents

Situations

Acquisition & buyout financing
MBO, MBI, sponsor deals
Growth & capex finance
Organic, capex, buy-and-build
Refinancing & repricing
Maturity, PG release, cost
Recapitalisations & dividend recaps
Return capital, reset structure
Special situations
Stressed, event-led, time-critical

Structures

Senior debt
Term, unitranche, club, RCF
Private debt
Direct lending, first/last-out
Asset-based
ABL, receivables, asset finance
Working capital & junior capital
Working capital, mezzanine, PIK

Ongoing

Covenant resets
Waivers & amendments
Maturity extensions
Liquidity raises
Stressed refinancings
Capital-structure reviews
Situations we advise on

The financings we are brought in to run.

  1. Acquisition & buyout financing

    Debt to fund an acquisition, a management buy-out or buy-in (MBO/MBI), or a sponsor-backed deal. Sized and structured to the target's cashflows, the equity cheque and the deal timetable, with the leverage benchmarked to what the market will fund.

  2. Growth & capex finance

    Facilities to fund organic growth, working capital, a capex programme or a buy-and-build. Structured so the debt supports the plan rather than constraining it, with headroom for the business to execute.

  3. Refinancing & repricing

    Replacing or repricing an existing facility ahead of a maturity, to release a personal guarantee or all-asset debenture, to lower cost, or to move to a lender whose appetite fits the business as it is now. A maturity is the moment competitive tension is worth most.

  4. Recapitalisations & dividend recaps

    Re-leveraging the balance sheet to return capital to shareholders, fund a partial exit, or reset the structure. Sized to a sustainable level of debt the business can carry through the cycle.

  5. Special situations

    Financings that turn on an event or a complication. A covenant breach, a time-critical deal, a carve-out or a turnaround, where the credit case has to be framed carefully for the few lenders with appetite.

Across the capital structure

We advise across every layer of the structure, from senior to subordinated.

We are structure-agnostic and lender-agnostic. The right financing is the one the market will compete to provide. Across a mandate that can mean any of the following, often in combination.

Senior debt

  • Senior term loans
  • Unitranche (fund-provided)
  • Club & syndicated bank facilities
  • Revolving credit facilities

Private debt

  • Direct lending
  • First-out / last-out structures
  • Holdco & PIK toggle
  • Cashflow-based lending

Asset-based

  • Asset-based lending (ABL)
  • Invoice & receivables finance
  • Inventory & plant-and-machinery finance
  • Asset finance

Working capital & junior capital

  • Working-capital lines
  • Overdraft & seasonal facilities
  • Junior, mezzanine & PIK
  • Subordinated debt
Fig. 01

Cost of capital across the structure, from senior bank debt to subordinated.

Indicative cost of capital by category, from senior bank debt to junior and mezzanineA spectrum showing the indicative cost of capital for each category, from lower cost on the left to higher cost on the right. Clearing and relationship banks sit at the keenest end; asset-based and asset-finance, then challenger and specialist banks, sit in the middle; private credit and unitranche sit toward the higher-cost end; junior, mezzanine and PIK sit at the most expensive, subordinated end.Clearing & relationship banksSenior, keenestAsset-based & asset-financeAgainst the asset baseChallenger & specialist banksOn its own termsPrivate credit & unitrancheFlexibility, pricedJunior / mezzanine / PIKSubordinatedLower costHigher cost
Indicative cost-of-capital band for each category of capital, relative to a senior bank facility.
CategoryRange
Clearing & relationship banksSenior, keenest
Asset-based & asset-financeAgainst the asset base
Challenger & specialist banksOn its own terms
Private credit & unitrancheFlexibility, priced
Junior / mezzanine / PIKSubordinated

Indicative all-in cost of capital by category, relative to a senior bank facility.

Capital-structure & ongoing

We advise after close, and when the structure has to change.

A financing is arranged once but managed for years. As a business and its facilities evolve, the capital structure has to be looked after, sometimes under pressure. We advise on the work that follows.

  • Covenant resets

    Renegotiating financial covenants where headroom has tightened, before a breach rather than after.

  • Waivers & amendments

    Securing a waiver or amendment from the lender group when the business needs the facility to flex.

  • Maturity extensions

    Extending or amending-and-extending a facility ahead of its maturity, on terms that hold.

  • Liquidity raises

    Raising additional liquidity at short notice, whether a new tranche, a working-capital line or an accordion.

  • Stressed refinancings

    Refinancing a facility under pressure, where the credit case has to be framed carefully and time is short.

  • Capital-structure reviews

    A periodic read on whether the structure still fits the business, across cost, covenants, security and maturity profile.

Where to start

If a financing is in front of you, start with a conversation.

Whichever situation fits, whether a raise, a refinancing, a recapitalisation or terms you are weighing, an early conversation is confidential and without obligation. We will tell you plainly what the market is likely to offer and whether we are the right adviser for it. See how a mandate runs, or see what the work product looks like →.

Request a confidential conversation