Private credit is capital lent bilaterally by credit funds rather than banks, priced higher in exchange for speed, structural flexibility and a covenant package built around one business. Zenith structures the instrument, shortlists the funds whose mandate actually fits, and negotiates terms from first approach through to funding.
Portfolio businesses funding an acquisition, a recapitalisation or growth capex without returning to the equity holders.
Profitable companies that want capital without dilution and cannot fit a bank's leverage or track-record test.
Borrowers where timing, jurisdiction or an unusual asset rules out a bank process on any workable timetable.
Groups raising structurally subordinated debt against distributions, dividends or a stake in an operating entity.
| Parameter | Range |
|---|---|
| Facility size | USD 10m – 100m |
| Tenor | 2 – 5 years |
| Structures | Senior secured, unitranche, mezzanine, asset-based lending |
| Security | All-asset debenture, share pledge, structural subordination at holdco |
| Lender types | Private credit funds, special situations desks, family capital |
| Indicative timeline | 12 – 24 weeks from mandate to funding |
Commercial model
A monthly retainer covers structuring, the fund process and diligence management. A success fee is paid on capital drawn. Where a bank facility turns out to be the better answer, we say so and the retainer stands on its own.
Phase
Phase
Phase
Where a bank warehouse will not clear the credit box, a fund will — at a price. We structure the instrument, test the downside case, and take it to the desks that underwrite originators.
Flexible growth facilities from funds that will lend against contribution margin and cohort behaviour where a bank credit box will not.
Holdco and mezzanine tranches sitting behind project debt, sized on distributions rather than project cash flow, with intercreditor terms negotiated before the senior lender is asked.
Unitranche and second-lien against hard collateral, structured so the security package survives a leasehold, a flag change or a sale of the underlying asset.
NAV, GP-commitment and subscription-line facilities for managers who need liquidity without selling into a soft market. Pricing follows the concentration profile of the book.
Acquisition and growth debt for producers whose earnings profile is too cyclical for a bank credit box. The negotiation that matters is covenant headroom, not the covenant list.
Royalty, revenue-interest and venture-debt structures for companies with approved products or contracted milestones, where equity at the current mark is the expensive option.
Debt diligence on a business whose asset base is entirely leasehold
Buy-side debt diligence on a multi-site flexible workspace operator — group structure, site-level unit economics, lease book, and pledgeable security
When the timetable is short, the structure is unusual, or the earnings profile does not fit a bank credit box. The trade is price against certainty and flexibility, and it is worth making explicitly rather than by default.
Materially, and the all-in number matters more than the margin: arrangement fees, undrawn fees, exit fees and any PIK element belong in the same calculation. We compare offers on cost to the company over the expected life, not on the coupon.
Typically leverage and interest cover tested quarterly, with a clean-down or cash sweep depending on the structure. The negotiation that matters is headroom against the base case and the cure rights, not the length of the covenant list.
Yes, where cash flows are contracted or demonstrably recurring. Security then attaches to the equity and the receivables rather than to plant, and the borrower pays for that in pricing and reporting.
Enough to create genuine competition and no more — usually eight to fifteen, run to one timetable. A wide, untargeted approach circulates the name without producing better terms.
Both, agreed in writing before work begins. The retainer funds the desk; the success fee is paid on capital that actually funds. No equity component.
Tell us the transaction and the timetable. If it is not something we should run, we will say so.
