Red Pin Capital lends €25m to €150m to established, profitable European businesses with EBITDA of €5m or more. Senior, unitranche, junior and structured capital for sponsor-backed, family-owned and founder-led companies, without selling ordinary equity.
Established, profitable European businesses with EBITDA of €5m or more, sponsor-backed, family-owned or founder-led.
The parameters here apply to every transaction, whatever the instrument.
€25m to €150m of private credit and structured capital, without selling ordinary equity.
Finance acquisitions, buy and build programmes and strategic M&A, with committed capacity available for subsequent transactions.
Finance capex, capacity expansion, new markets and working capital requirements against the forward business plan.
Refinance existing lenders, upcoming maturities or more complex debt structures with a facility designed for the next stage of the business.
Dividend recap, founder liquidity, a cleaner balance sheet. Take capital out without selling the business.
Ownership change, carve outs and complex situations that bank debt is not designed for.
Illustrative examples only. Debt capacity, pricing and structure depend on the company, the transaction and market conditions.
| Bank senior debt | Outside equity | Red Pin Capital | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Lowest cash cost. | Participation in future equity value for as long as the investor remains a shareholder. | Premium to conventional senior bank debt, reflecting greater leverage and structural flexibility. |
| Ownership | Unchanged. | Diluted by the shares issued. | Unchanged. No shares issued. |
| Control | Covenants and security. | Board seat, consent rights and a say on the exit. | Covenants set against the plan and information rights. No board control. |
| Size | Typically constrained by leverage policy, security, amortisation and existing banking appetite. | Sized to the equity story and valuation. | Sized against sustainable cash flow, the transaction and the forward business plan. |
| Structure | Amortising term loan and revolving facility. | Ordinary or preferred shares. | Unitranche, delayed draw, PIK toggle, HoldCo, preferred and committed acquisition lines. |
| Speed and certainty | Credit committee and often a club of lenders. | Months of process, valuation and negotiation. | One counterparty and one set of terms, agreed bilaterally. |
Every deal is priced and structured to the company and its plan.
Most banks lend against last year’s earnings. When your plan needs more, the usual answer is equity: dilution, a new partner in the boardroom and an exit on someone else’s timetable. Private credit provides an alternative. It carries a higher cost than conventional bank debt but can provide additional capacity and structural flexibility without requiring the owners to sell equity.
We can size the facility on the combined business and commit to the next acquisition at the outset, so you bid with the funding already agreed.
Earnings arrive after the spend. We can defer amortisation or roll up part of the interest until the new capacity earns.
Banks rarely fund a payment to a departing owner. We finance the buyout so the remaining owners keep 100%.
A recapitalisation returns part of the value you have built without a sale, a new shareholder or a change of control.
Capital for the next generation or management to take ownership over time, or a maturity handled on your timetable.
You can usually get a bank. The question is whether it gives you the leverage, certainty and speed the deal needs, and what that does to your equity return.
Red Pin Capital underwrites the financing against an agreed structure and timetable, providing clarity of terms and execution through closing. In a competitive process, that certainty supports the sponsor’s position as a buyer.
An initial facility plus a committed acquisition facility, drawn as each add on meets the conditions agreed at the outset.
Keep €25m to €40m of equity back on a €150m deal for the next one. The number that matters is the return on your equity.
Delayed draw, second lien, HoldCo, PIK and preferred. The bank takes the senior piece. We provide the rest, or the whole thing.
Replace, extend or resize existing debt for the next stage of the hold. Return capital to the fund. Keep a strong asset past year five without selling on fund dynamics.
Illustrative only. Debt capacity, pricing, the equity required and dilution depend on the company, the transaction and market conditions.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
We lend across sectors. The examples here are illustrative and not exhaustive.
| Instrument | Ranking | Coupon | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior secured | First lien | Cash | Acquisitions, refinancing and capex beyond the bank’s size or timetable. |
| Unitranche and stretched senior | First lien, one facility | Primarily cash | Senior and junior leverage in one document, one lender. |
| Junior, second lien and HoldCo | Subordinated | Cash and PIK | Capacity above bank senior debt. You keep the bank relationship. |
| Preferred and structured | Ahead of equity | PIK or preferred return | Liquidity, transitions and recapitalisations. A preferred return, plus a share of the upside where agreed. |
Instruments are used alone or in combination, with committed acquisition, delayed draw, capex and revolving lines alongside. We negotiate the terms with you: leverage, cash versus PIK, amortisation, maturity, baskets, covenants, security, call protection and, where agreed, a share of the upside. Sustainable EBITDA means earnings after our view of the adjustments. The exact protection package depends on the business and the structure.
€25m to €150m per transaction.
Established, profitable European businesses with EBITDA of €5m or more. They are sponsor-backed, family-owned or founder-led, with at least five years of audited accounts, recurring, contracted or repeat revenue and a visible forward order book. Most transactions involve EBITDA of €5m to €25m.
Senior secured, unitranche, junior and second lien, HoldCo, PIK and preferred. They can be used alone or in combination, with committed acquisition, delayed draw, capex and revolving lines alongside.
Senior and unitranche facilities are typically 3x to 5x EBITDA and/or 60% to 75% loan to value. Junior and structured instruments are sized on cash flow above that. Debt capacity depends on the company, the transaction and market conditions.
Bank senior debt has the lowest cash cost. Red Pin Capital prices at a premium to conventional senior bank debt, reflecting greater leverage and structural flexibility. Every deal is priced and structured to the company and its plan.
No shares are issued and ownership is unchanged. We lend against covenants set to the business plan and information rights, with no board control. Preferred and structured instruments can carry a share of the upside where agreed.
Yes. We can lend alongside the bank, sit above the bank facility with a HoldCo or junior instrument, or provide the whole structure. In several of our illustrative structures the bank keeps its working capital lines.
In 14 European countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy. We are sector agnostic.
Email [email protected] with a short description of the business, its EBITDA and what you are trying to finance.