Debt Advisory
Independent advice on the full spectrum of debt financing, from senior secured facilities and unitranche loans to mezzanine, asset-backed, and structured credit solutions.
Discuss Your Financing NeedsIndependent.
Process-Driven.
Lender-Agnostic.
Debt markets are fragmented across banks, direct lenders, credit funds, and specialty finance providers. Each channel offers different products, pricing, flexibility, documentation, and approval dynamics, so the appropriate solution depends on the borrower's objectives and risk profile. Borrowers comparing options should understand the practical differences between direct lending and bank financing before focusing only on headline pricing.
As an independent advisor, we have no lender fee arrangements that influence our recommendations. We approach each mandate by comparing the relevant universe of financing providers, which may include relationship banks, new bank lenders, direct lenders, private credit funds, mezzanine providers, and specialty finance sources.
Borrowers comparing lender paths can review our dedicated pages on debt financing and private credit before deciding whether a bank, direct lender, unitranche provider, or structured capital source best fits the situation.
The right debt package depends on more than leverage and price. Borrowers need to evaluate covenants, amortization, maturity, security, call protection, permitted acquisitions, distribution capacity, reporting requirements, and lender behavior through the life of the facility.
Financing Solutions
We advise across the full debt capital structure, identifying instruments that fit each client's specific transaction, risk profile, and objectives. Where the financing supports an acquisition, the facility needs to align with the acquisition financing plan, diligence timeline, and closing conditions. A dedicated debt financing process can help borrowers compare lender proposals before committing to a structure.
Senior Secured Debt
We advise on senior secured facilities, including term loans and revolving credit facilities, from banks, direct lenders, and syndicated markets. Senior debt is often the lowest-cost component of a capital structure and forms the foundation of many leveraged transactions.
- •Acquisition financing and LBO structures
- •Refinancing of existing bank facilities
- •Revolving credit facilities for working capital
- •Growth capex and expansion financing
- •Usually attractive on pricing, but lenders may require security, amortization, financial covenants, reporting, and limits on distributions or acquisitions.
- •Works best when cash flow is predictable and the borrower can support regular lender diligence and covenant compliance.
Unitranche & Direct Lending
Direct lenders are a major financing source for middle-market transactions. Unitranche structures combine senior and subordinated debt into a single facility, often offering execution certainty, speed, and documentation flexibility for acquisitions, refinancings, and recapitalizations.
- •Sponsor-backed LBO and acquisition financing
- •Mid-market transactions requiring speed and certainty
- •Complex deal structures unsuitable for bank syndication
- •Covenant-lite and flexible documentation requirements
- •Can simplify execution and increase leverage capacity, but pricing may be higher than bank debt and call protection can affect future refinancing flexibility.
- •The lender's hold size, sector view, documentation style, and behavior in difficult periods matter as much as the initial term sheet.
Mezzanine & Subordinated Debt
Mezzanine and subordinated debt sit between senior debt and equity in the capital structure, providing additional leverage without further equity dilution. Used to bridge the gap between senior debt capacity and total financing requirements.
- •Leveraged buyouts requiring stretch financing
- •Recapitalizations and shareholder distributions
- •Growth financing where senior capacity is fully utilized
- •Junior capital alongside equity raises
- •Can reduce equity needs, but it is more expensive than senior debt and may include warrants, payment-in-kind interest, or stricter consent rights.
- •Appropriate when the company can support additional leverage and when the cost is justified by the value of preserving equity ownership.
Structured & Specialty Finance
For situations where conventional debt structures do not fit, we design bespoke financing solutions — asset-backed facilities, revenue-based structures, and hybrid instruments — that match the underlying economics of the business.
- •Asset-backed lending and receivables financing
- •Revenue-based and royalty financing
- •Real asset and infrastructure-linked facilities
- •Special situations and distressed financing
- •Can unlock capital where cash flow lending is limited, but structures may be more bespoke and require detailed analysis of collateral, revenue quality, or asset value.
- •Useful for companies with strong asset bases, contract visibility, recurring revenue, or special situations where conventional bank terms are too restrictive.
What Borrowers Should Compare
Debt financing is often presented as a choice between rate and leverage. In practice, the most important decision is the full package of economics, flexibility, lender reliability, and fit with the company's operating plan. Borrowers should also understand how working capital, debt-like items, and covenants can affect liquidity after closing.
Cost of Capital
Margin, base rate, original issue discount, upfront fees, undrawn fees, legal costs, hedging, and call protection all affect the true cost of financing. We help clients compare the full economics rather than a single headline spread.
Flexibility
A facility should support the business plan after closing. Borrowers need to understand limits on acquisitions, dividends, capex, additional debt, ownership changes, and operational decisions before signing.
Certainty of Execution
A low-priced term sheet has limited value if credit approval is uncertain, conditions are broad, diligence demands are unrealistic, or the lender cannot close within the transaction timeline.
Long-Term Lender Fit
Debt relationships can last for years. The right financing partner understands the sector, communicates clearly, has capacity for future needs, and behaves constructively if the company faces volatility.
Lender selection
How to Compare Debt Financing Companies
Debt financing companies should not be compared only by quoted margin. Banks, direct lenders, private credit funds, mezzanine providers, asset-backed lenders, and structured capital sources each underwrite risk differently. The right provider depends on the company's cash-flow durability, transaction timeline, collateral, covenant tolerance, acquisition plans, and need for certainty. Borrowers considering non-bank capital should also compare how private credit terms differ from traditional bank facilities.
Borrowers should compare the full package: leverage, fees, amortization, covenants, baskets, call protection, reporting, lender hold size, approval process, and behavior if performance becomes volatile. For acquisition-related facilities, the financing source also affects offer quality for sellers. A committed lender with realistic diligence demands can be more valuable than a lower-cost indication that cannot close on the required timeline.
For deeper context, compare direct lending and bank financing, review how acquisition financing affects transaction certainty, and read Palmstone's report on acquisition financing and private credit.
Global Lender Network
Our relationships with 1,100+ active financing providers across bank, direct lending, and credit fund markets support broad, targeted lender coverage for each mandate.
Direct Lenders
Specialist mid-market and large-cap direct lending funds
Banks & Syndicates
Commercial banks and leveraged finance syndication desks
Credit Funds
Institutional credit managers across strategies
Mezzanine Funds
Junior capital providers and subordinated debt funds
Specialty Lenders
Asset-backed, trade finance, and structured credit providers
Active across the US, UK, Germany, France, Benelux, Nordics, Switzerland, and major Middle East and Asia-Pacific markets. We maintain senior relationships at the credit committee level across our network.
Our Process
A structured lender process helps clients compare real alternatives and understand the tradeoffs behind each proposal. We manage every step from mandate preparation through closing, including the financial information lenders need to assess cash flow quality, collateral, leverage capacity, and downside protection.
Mandate Preparation
We begin by analyzing the business, its financial profile, cash flow durability, collateral, capital needs, and the appropriate debt capacity for the transaction. This establishes the parameters for lender outreach and helps clients avoid pursuing structures that do not fit the company.
Lender Marketing
We run a structured lender process, approaching the right universe of financing providers simultaneously where appropriate. The objective is to create credible alternatives across banks, direct lenders, credit funds, and specialty providers while preserving confidentiality and management time.
Term Sheet Negotiation
We negotiate economic and structural terms across competing proposals, including pricing, leverage, amortisation, covenants, call protection, baskets, reporting obligations, and closing conditions. Our focus is the full financing package, not only the margin.
Documentation & Close
We coordinate all parties through legal documentation and closing, protecting our client's interests at every stage and ensuring the financing is in place in line with the transaction timeline.
Situations We Address
From straightforward refinancings to complex leveraged transactions, we bring the same process discipline and market access to every mandate.
Acquisition Financing
Raising the debt component of an acquisition — whether sponsor-backed or strategic — requires speed, certainty, and competitive pricing. We manage the full financing process alongside the M&A transaction.
Refinancing & Maturity Extension
Refinancing existing facilities to extend maturities, reduce cost of capital, or improve terms is one of the most value-accretive actions a CFO can take. We run competitive processes designed to test market appetite and improve the probability of credible terms.
Growth Capex Financing
Companies investing in capacity expansion, new facilities, or major capital projects often benefit from bespoke debt financing that matches the asset life and payback profile of the investment.
Dividend Recapitalisation
Distributing capital to shareholders through incremental leverage is a proven strategy for sponsors and family shareholders seeking liquidity without a full exit. We structure and execute dividend recaps with precision.
LBO & Sponsor Financing
We work alongside private equity sponsors and management teams to structure and raise the debt financing for leveraged buyouts, add-on acquisitions, and platform builds.
Distressed & Special Situations
Companies facing capital structure challenges, covenant breaches, or liquidity constraints benefit from independent advisory that prioritises their interests in negotiations with existing lenders or new capital providers.
Why Palmstone Capital
Many companies access debt through an existing bank or a lender introduced by a sponsor. An independent process can broaden the available options and create a clearer basis for comparison.
Genuinely Independent
We receive no fees from lenders and have no preferred financing relationships. Our mandate is to find the best financing for our client — not the most convenient or most profitable relationship for us.
Full Market Coverage
We can run bank and direct lending processes simultaneously where appropriate, rather than defaulting to one channel. This allows clients to compare pricing, leverage, flexibility, and execution certainty across different parts of the market.
Terms Beyond Pricing
Margin is one dimension of a financing. Covenants, call protection, amortisation, flexibility provisions, and lender composition matter as much over the life of a facility. We negotiate the full package, not just the headline rate.
M&A Integration
Where debt advisory sits alongside an M&A process, our integrated advisory approach helps align financing structure and timing with the transaction, reducing the coordination risk that arises when separate advisors run parallel processes.
Considering a Financing?
Whether you are refinancing existing facilities, financing an acquisition, or exploring what your capital structure could look like, we welcome an initial conversation. Confidential and without obligation.