We help you design your credit story and optimise the capital structure, selecting the most appropriate facilities with the right lenders to fund your growth ambitions.

Debt capital markets are extensive and deeply liquid, with many options for borrowers of all sizes. Whether you’re a corporate, sponsor or institutional investor, you need to navigate this market in a smart and informed way to access the optimal capital structure for value creation.

We can help you find the right lender and type of debt products. Our team of deeply experienced experts know the debt market and will help you design and achieve the best funding options.

  • Raising debt
  • Refinancing debt
  • Borrowers and sponsors
  • Raising debt
    Raising new debt facilities for M&A/acquisition finance, capex, working capital, and general corporate purposes, including ESG-based financing such as green loans, social bonds and sustainability-linked loans.
  • Refinancing debt
    Refinancing existing debt facilities to optimise the capital structure, improve pricing, extend maturities, and recapitalisations.
  • Borrowers and sponsors
    Working with corporate borrowers and private equity financial sponsors across the mid-market and large cap market.
Shaun O’Callaghan
Partner, UK Head of Restructuring and Debt Advisory
Shaun O’Callaghan

Why Grant Thornton

We act as a strategic sounding board, testing and challenging assumptions and facilitating debate within your leadership and investor teams. By gaining a unique understanding of your strategic ambitions, we can advise on the funding options available to support your business and deliver value for your stakeholders.

We're the number one corporate financer adviser in the UK – we see more transactions than anyone else in the market and have a unique insight to offer to our clients.

Capital Thinking: analysis of current debt and financing market insights

Expert insights from our UK debt advisory specialists, who can help you to navigate the complex lending landscape and wider debt markets.

ESG lending: momentum is building for the mid-market

A survey of over 40 UK-based lenders to understand their ESG lending

EMEA Advisor Rankings - Full Year 2023

Who we work with

Our debt advisory team specialise in working with:

  • Financial sponsors
  • Privately-owned corporates
  • Listed corporates
  • Family offices
  • Asset managers and institutional investors (including pension, insurance, real estate, and CLO funds)  
  • Real estate investors
  • Infrastructure investors
  • Landlords
  • Asset-based lending (ABL) funders
  • Special situations investors
  • Islamic finance providers
  • Regulators

Case study

The client
Our client was a market-leading, independently owned corporate within the business support services sector. They provided soft facilities management solutions including cleaning, security, compliance and catering services to blue-chip corporates and the public sector.
The problem
Our client needed to raise £50 million through a combination of asset based lending (ABL) and unitranche. This structure is gaining more popularity across the marketplace, particularly with companies who have both good asset bases and margins where EBITDA converts well to cash flow. The intercreditor principles between the ABL provider (typically a bank) and the unitranche provider (typically a fund) are imperative for concluding a successful transaction. Each is different, as we usually see the ABL funder able to advance a higher proportion of the overall financing package compared to more market-standard structures.
Our solution
We drove a competitive process leveraging our extensive sector knowledge, experience and network of funders across the capital spectrum. During the transaction, our team was also on hand to advise on an off-market acquisition and refinance of the existing banking facilities. Our involvement ensured the business capitalised on a strategic growth opportunity and delivered an investment that met the shareholders’ key objectives.

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