Continued growth of ThinCats sponsor lending franchise

We are delighted to report continued growth within our sponsor lending franchise. In what has widely been reported externally as a somewhat subdued market, we have bucked the trend, completing 10 sponsor backed transactions in the last four months. These include supporting six new borrowers, of which five were new Sponsor relationships, whilst also continuing our support for four existing borrowers in providing financing to support bolt-on acquisitions and balance sheet recapitalisations. Our lending reflects our sector agnostic approach, and includes financial services, tech services and healthcare.

 

As a team we recognise the need to continually evolve and develop our product and processes to serve our borrowers and sponsors’ needs. Since Dave Sherrington established our specialist sponsor team in London in 2020, we have quickly become a valuable source of debt in the lower mid-market delivering almost £400m in funding to date. As we have expanded our PE offering beyond London with the addition of senior hires, including most recently Jo Power and Simon Dixon, we need to be better co-ordinated at a national level to meet the needs of our clients. As a result, I have taken on a new role as National Head of Sponsors continuing to work closely with Dave, who in his new role as Managing Director of London & South will drive both sponsor and non-sponsor origination in the region, and Simon with his focus on sponsor coverage for the North, to ensure we collectively best serve our sponsor and advisor relationships.

 

The actions and investment we are taking are, in my opinion, driving our strong momentum and enhanced brand awareness amongst the lower mid-market private equity community. Having secured a new £700m funding vehicle and with a strong pipeline of further sponsor backed opportunities, we look forward to further supporting both existing and new sponsor relationships with their investments into the UK lower mid-market.

If you would like to hear more about our transactions to date, or how we can support and partner with you on your future investments, please do reach out to the team.

Neil Patel, Head of National Sponsors