Growth capital and borrowing for private companies, sourced from the funds and lenders most closely matched to their ambitions and negotiated with the discretion that marks every Whitcombe mandate.
The terms of a financing outlast the money itself. Covenants, investor rights, and repayment obligations shape a company’s freedom of action for years, which is why the choice of partner matters as much as the price.
We begin with purpose. Whether the money is meant for expansion, a purchase, the exit of a co-owner, or replacing old debt determines the structures worth considering, and your cash flow and appetite for shared control determine which of them suit you.
We then introduce the company to a short list of funds or lenders whose mandates are a true fit, and run a process in which they compete. Every proposal reaches you in a single comparison, accompanied by our recommendation.
Clients range from family companies welcoming their first institutional investor to sponsor-owned groups rebuilding the whole right-hand side of the balance sheet.
Private companies of substance and the shareholders who own them.
You see a clear opportunity, whether a new market, facility, or product, and want capital that supports it without undue strain.
You would like to release some of your wealth from the business, or settle with a departing co-owner, while the company stays independent.
You have identified an acquisition and need financing secured before you make your offer.
Each form has its own price and its own obligations. We help you decide, then see the raise through.
Outside capital for a non-controlling share, used to fund the company’s next chapter. Price is only one term we negotiate; seats on the board, veto rights, and the investor’s intended holding period receive the same attention.
Suited to: profitable businesses that want an institutional ally while keeping control.
A buyout fund takes a majority holding, often with founders and senior managers rolling part of their proceeds into the new structure. We set candidates side by side on price, strategy, and how they have supported management in past investments.
Suited to: proprietors willing to cede control for a larger realization and a well-resourced backer.
Bank term loans and revolving credit priced keenly, with covenant packages and reporting requirements negotiated among several institutions at once.
Suited to: businesses with dependable cash generation and modest leverage requirements.
Loans from private credit funds that stretch further and move faster than a bank. We lay out every cost, including arrangement fees and any warrants, so the option can be judged against equity on equal terms.
Suited to: companies seeking more than a traditional bank is willing to lend.
Funding arranged in step with a purchase, so that a seller sees a credible bidder and the timetable holds. Loan agreements and the sale and purchase agreement are drafted in concert from the first turn.
Suited to: buyers pursuing one identified business or a planned run of purchases.
Retiring borrowing that has grown expensive, onerous, or due for repayment, or resetting the balance sheet after significant change. Banks and private lenders bid for the mandate, and we secure terms that return room to maneuver.
Suited to: companies whose current lending no longer matches their scale or direction.
Most raises are funded within three to six months. The stages, their usual timing, and your part in each are set out below.
The aim of the raise is fixed first: what it pays for, its size, and the proportion of equity to debt that suits your cash generation and the influence you are prepared to share.
From you: your strategic plan, the latest management accounts, and candor about the governance you will accept.
Our team builds the forecast model and drafts the investor or credit paper, addressing the objections a careful reader would raise before they are voiced.
From you: access to the finance function and to senior colleagues.
A curated list of funds and banks is invited in under non-disclosure. Meetings, questions, and follow-up are managed by us against one shared deadline.
From you: time for presentations and site tours, rehearsed with our team.
Term sheets are tabulated on pricing, structure, covenants, governance, and deliverability. Leading parties are asked to sharpen their offers before you make your choice.
From you: a view on how to trade cost against flexibility and control.
Final diligence, facility or subscription agreements, and settlement, with your lawyers and auditors working to the same calendar so the capital lands on schedule.
From you: prompt answers to diligence questions and sign-off on the definitive documents.
The standards every capital markets client can expect.
We recommend the form of capital we believe fits, with our reasons.
Several qualified parties, so the terms are set by the market.
Every proposal set out on cost, obligations, and control.
We remain engaged until the capital is received.
Borrowing is usually the cheaper route and preserves ownership, but it must be serviced on schedule and comes with covenants. Equity has no repayment obligation, yet it dilutes your holding and introduces a partner with entitlements of its own. We model both against your plan so the choice is clear.
Lenders measure capacity against earnings and cash generation; equity investors measure it against your plan and the valuation they are prepared to support. We agree a sensible range with you before anyone is approached.
Only if you pursue a control transaction. A minority investor holds a non-controlling interest and a lender holds none at all. Whatever the structure, governance provisions receive the same scrutiny as price.
When the extra capacity, speed, or flexibility unlocks something genuinely valuable, such as an acquisition a bank would decline to fund. Every fee is set out in full, so you can judge it on equal terms.
A bank facility can often be signed within a quarter. Equity and private credit usually take four to six months. Preparation is the best defense against slippage.
Dependable financial statements, a forecast that withstands scrutiny, a seasoned leadership team, and a plain statement of where the money will go and how it will earn its keep. We help put each in order before the company goes to market.
Certainly. Including your current lender alongside others is common, and genuine alternatives often lead it to improve its own terms.
A modest retainer and a fee payable when the capital is received, both recorded in an engagement letter before work starts. An introductory meeting is without charge.
Send a short note describing your company and the decision ahead of you. A partner will reply personally, and your message will be held in strict confidence.
info@whitcombecapital.com