Funder panel
Acquisition finance lenders: who funds UK buyouts, and on what terms.
Acquisition finance is not one market. Six groups of funder compete for UK transactions, each with a different instrument, a different leverage ceiling and a different view of risk, and the group you approach first largely decides the terms you end up with. This page maps 40+ banks, debt funds and asset based lenders by what they actually provide. We are an arranger, not a lender.
Advice from Matt Lenzie · 25-year career banker (Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group). £400m+ raised for clients.
Founder profile →Group one
Which banks provide acquisition finance?
Banks are the largest and cheapest source of UK acquisition debt. They write senior term loans and revolving credit facilities, take a first-ranking debenture over the acquiring group and a pledge over the target shares, and expect the debt to amortise over five to seven years. Leverage sits at an indicative 2.5x to 3.5x EBITDA, priced off Bank Rate or compounded SONIA plus a margin, with all-in cost at an indicative 7% to 10% all-in. Indicative as of September 2026.
The group splits in practice. The clearing banks, names such as Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Santander UK, run structured finance and acquisition teams for deals above roughly £5 million of debt and price keenly where the credit is strong. The challenger and specialist banks, including Allica Bank, OakNorth, Shawbrook, Cynergy Bank, Arbuthnot Latham, take smaller tickets, move faster on credit and stretch further on cases the clearers find awkward. Those names are illustrative of the market, not a recommendation. What every bank shares is a credit policy: three or four quarterly covenants, an amortisation schedule and a firm ceiling on leverage.
Group two
Where do specialist cash flow lenders fit?
Between the banks and the debt funds sits a group of specialist lenders who underwrite earnings rather than assets and will look at deals below the size a fund considers. Names active in this market include ThinCats, Caple, Growth Lending, Boost&Co, Frontier Development Capital, again illustrative rather than a recommendation. They lend at an indicative 2.0x to 3.5x EBITDA over three to six years, sometimes with a bullet or a partial amortisation holiday, at an indicative 9% to 14% all-in.
Their value is flexibility at the lower mid-market end. Where a bank declines on tangible security, or wants a personal guarantee the buyers will not give, a cash flow lender will often fund the same transaction against demonstrable free cash flow and a credible plan. They also sit comfortably alongside an invoice finance or asset based facility, which makes them useful in a structure that combines working capital funding with acquisition debt.
Group three
Unitranche debt funds: one facility, higher leverage
Private credit funds write the whole debt structure themselves. A unitranche facility blends senior and subordinated risk into a single tranche at one blended margin, reaching an indicative 4.0x to 5.5x EBITDA, with the principal repaid as a bullet at maturity or on exit rather than amortising. All-in pricing runs at an indicative 10% to 13% all-in as of September 2026. Covenants are lighter, often a single quarterly leverage test, and one credit committee decides the whole facility.
Names active in the UK and European mid-market include Ares Management, Barings, Pemberton, Tikehau Capital, Arcmont Asset Management, CVC Credit, Permira Credit, Muzinich, illustrative of the panel and not a recommendation. Minimum ticket sizes are the practical filter: most funds want EBITDA above £3 million to £5 million before the diligence cost makes sense. In exchange for higher pricing a borrower gets more debt, no amortisation, and committed acquisition lines for a buy-and-build. Sponsor-backed deals dominate the flow, though sponsor-less management teams increasingly access the same funds.
Group four
Mezzanine funds and the subordinated layer
Mezzanine providers write the junior debt that sits above a bank facility and below the shareholders. The facility is subordinated, secured second-ranking behind the senior lenders under an intercreditor deed, repaid as a bullet, and priced with a mix of cash interest, payment-in-kind interest that rolls into the principal, and sometimes warrants over a small equity stake. All-in cost is an indicative 12% to 18% including PIK including PIK, indicative as of September 2026.
Names active in this market include Beechbrook Capital, Shard Credit Partners, Kartesia, Boost&Co, Muzinich, illustrative rather than a recommendation, and several unitranche funds will write a junior tranche where another lender holds the senior debt. A mezzanine layer typically adds an extra 1.0x to 1.5x EBITDA of leverage, taking total debt to an indicative 3.5x to 5.0x EBITDA with unitranche or mezzanine. Most funds will not write below roughly £2 million, so smaller gaps are better solved with vendor deferral or a larger equity contribution.
Group five
Asset based lenders: borrowing against the balance sheet
Asset based lenders size a facility from a borrowing base rather than a multiple of earnings. Each asset class is advanced against at its own rate: the highest advance against verified trade receivables, less against inventory, and separate lines against plant, machinery and property, with the total redetermined monthly as the assets move. Pricing runs at an indicative 6% to 10% plus facility fees, and because the facility flexes with the balance sheet it funds both the acquisition and the working capital the acquired group needs afterwards.
Names active in this market include Close Brothers, Aldermore, Arbuthnot Commercial ABL, Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, Time Finance, Praetura Commercial Finance, Leumi ABL, illustrative of the panel and not a recommendation. Asset based lending suits manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and recruitment businesses with real debtor books, and it frequently sits alongside a cash flow tranche so the structure covers both the price and the day-to-day funding. It suits asset-light service businesses poorly, because there is little to lend against. Reporting is heavier than a term loan: monthly borrowing base certificates and periodic audits are part of the deal.
Group six
Private equity: the equity, not the debt
The sixth group does not lend at all. Private equity and growth capital houses provide the equity a transaction needs once the debt has been stretched as far as the cash flow allows, usually structured as a thin slice of ordinary shares alongside shareholder loan notes that carry a rolled-up coupon and rank ahead of the ordinary equity on exit. Sponsor and management equity typically accounts for 30% to 50% of enterprise value from sponsor and management.
Houses active in the UK mid-market include BGF, LDC, Inflexion, ECI Partners, Livingbridge, Bridgepoint, Synova, Maven Capital Partners, Palatine, Foresight Group, illustrative of the market and not a recommendation. Mandates differ sharply: some take majority control in classic buyouts, others take minority stakes and leave the management team in charge, and several regional funds specialise in smaller transactions. Where a management team wants leverage without giving up control, the honest comparison is between a minority equity partner and a larger junior debt layer. We arrange the debt and introduce equity where a deal needs it; we are neither a lender nor an investor.
How sponsor deals are funded · management buyouts sit with our sister desk at MBOFinance.co.uk
Underwriting
What do acquisition finance lenders look for?
Six things, in roughly this order. First, earnings quality: adjusted EBITDA that survives a quality of earnings review, with add-backs a lender will accept rather than the ones a seller would like. Second, cash conversion, because a business turning 90% of EBITDA into free cash flow carries far more debt than one at 60% on identical earnings. Third, leverage and cover: net debt to EBITDA inside the band for the instrument, debt service cover around 1.25x on the base case and above 1.0x on a downside.
Fourth, the equity cushion. Lenders want meaningful money behind them, and how much of the enterprise value the buyers are funding themselves is often the single biggest determinant of whether terms improve or evaporate. Fifth, management: who is running the business the day after completion, what they own, and whether the seller is staying or leaving. Sixth, sector and security: contract length, customer concentration, cyclicality, and what the debenture, share pledge and intercreditor deed actually deliver if things go wrong. Every group above weighs these differently, which is precisely why the placement decision matters.
Leverage ratios explained · What is EBITDA? · Test your ratios
Placement
How we run a transaction across the panel
Funder selection is the work. Appetite shifts quarter by quarter as banks adjust credit policy and funds raise or deploy capital, so the decision about which group to approach, in what order, with what evidence attached, is what determines whether a deal attracts competing terms or a single grudging offer. We package the case once, properly, and run it in parallel.
- 01
Brief 15-minute call
We take the deal outline: the target, its EBITDA and cash conversion, the price, who the acquirer is and how much equity is available. Fee-free; no commitment.
- 02
Debt capacity and indicative terms
We size senior, unitranche or mezzanine debt against EBITDA and free cash flow, build the sources and uses, then run the case across banks, debt funds and asset based lenders for indicative terms.
- 03
Credit approval and due diligence
The chosen funders take the case to credit. Financial, commercial and legal due diligence, covenant setting, security and any guarantee terms are agreed and the offer is issued.
- 04
Legals and completion
Facility agreement, intercreditor deed, debenture and share purchase agreement are negotiated in parallel. Funds draw on completion.
Every funder named on this page is a name active in the UK acquisition and leveraged finance market, listed to show the shape of the panel. It is not a recommendation, not an indication that any funder will consider a particular transaction, and not a statement that we act for them. We are not a lender. Pricing and leverage figures are indicative bands as of September 2026 and are confirmed in writing only after a case has been assessed. 1% of debt raised on drawdown, lender fee credited first, nothing if the deal does not complete.
By instrument
Match the funder group to the facility
Acquisition finance
The head product: debt to buy a business.
Senior debt of 2.5x to 3.5x combined EBITDA; more with unitranche or mezzanine layers.
Business acquisition loans
Term loans to buy a company.
Typically 50 to 70 percent of the purchase price over four to six years.
Leveraged finance
Debt sized on cash flow, not assets.
Total debt of 3.5x to 5.0x EBITDA on strong credits, less for cyclical or smaller businesses.
Cash flow lending
Borrowing against earnings.
2.0x to 3.5x EBITDA over three to six years, amortising or with a bullet.
Senior debt
First-ranking, lowest cost.
2.5x to 3.5x EBITDA from banks, priced off Bank Rate or SONIA plus a margin.
Unitranche debt
Senior and junior in one facility.
4.0x to 5.5x EBITDA in a single tranche, usually with a bullet repayment.
Mezzanine finance
Between senior debt and equity.
An extra 1.0x to 1.5x EBITDA on top of senior debt, at 12 to 18 percent including PIK.
Private equity buyout finance
Debt alongside a sponsor.
Debt of 4.0x to 5.5x EBITDA with equity of 40 to 50 percent of enterprise value.
Prefer to start with the numbers? The LBO calculator builds a sources and uses table, or talk the transaction through with us first.
Questions about acquisition finance lenders
How hard is it to get an acquisition loan?+
Harder than a working capital facility and easier than most buyers expect, provided the numbers stand up. Lenders are underwriting the earnings of the target, not the optimism of the buyer, so the work sits in evidencing EBITDA, cash conversion and the ability to service the debt on a downside case. A well-packaged case with a credible management team and real equity behind it will usually attract competing terms.
Can banks do acquisition financing?+
Yes, and UK banks remain the largest source of acquisition debt. They provide senior term loans and revolving facilities at an indicative 2.5x to 3.5x EBITDA, priced off Bank Rate or SONIA plus a margin. Where the target is asset-light or the leverage required is higher than bank policy allows, a debt fund or a cash flow lender is usually the better route.
Who is the easiest lender to get a loan from in the UK?+
There is no easiest lender, only the lender whose credit policy fits your transaction. A recurring-revenue software business, a haulage company with hard assets and a professional services firm with none will each get their best terms from a different group. Chasing the most permissive lender usually means paying for it in margin, covenants or security.
What are acquisition financings?+
Facilities raised specifically to buy a company or a business and its assets, secured on the acquirer, the target or both. The family includes senior term debt, revolving credit facilities, unitranche, mezzanine, cash flow loans, asset based lending and vendor deferral, usually combined rather than used alone. The acquisition finance hub sets out each route in turn.
Are there unsecured business acquisition loans?+
Rarely at transaction scale. Small unsecured facilities exist for working capital, but a lender advancing several million pounds to buy a company will take a debenture over the group and a pledge over the shares being bought. What can be negotiated is the personal element: on sponsor-backed and larger deals, personal guarantees are frequently limited or absent, with security taken over corporate assets instead.
Do you have to be in London to raise acquisition finance?+
No. Most of the banks, debt funds and asset based lenders on the panel have London deal teams and regional coverage across the UK, and a transaction in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham or Glasgow is priced on its credit rather than its postcode. We work with acquirers and management teams nationwide.
Which lender is best for a particular acquisition?+
The one whose policy matches the earnings profile, the leverage required and the timetable. That is genuinely a case-by-case answer, which is why we run a competitive process across 40+ banks, debt funds and asset based lenders rather than defaulting to a favourite. We never promise a specific funder or rate before a case has been assessed.
Are you a lender, and what do you charge?+
We are not a lender. We are an arranger and introducer: we structure the debt, package the case and place it with funders. Initial consultations are fee-free. We charge an arrangement fee of 1% of the debt raised, payable only on successful drawdown. Where a lender pays us an introducer or procuration fee, that is credited first and you pay only the difference up to 1%. No fee at all if the transaction does not complete.
Enquiry
Put the whole panel to work on your transaction
Same-business-day callback. Access to 40+ banks, debt funds and asset based lenders. Initial consultation fee-free.
- Whole-of-market: banks, unitranche and mezzanine funds, cash flow lenders, asset based lenders and private equity.
- A funding structure and indicative terms before you commit to anything.
- Initial consultation always fee-free. Confidential.