The half-sold raise
A decade of US Form D filings, read raise by raise. Fewer private raises fill than at any point since 2019. More of them stall below half. The ones that fill are sold differently.
Latest
A UK small business pays 280 basis points over Bank Rate
What British and euro-area companies pay their banks, and how much more the small ones pay.
The private loans falling due soonest pay the most, and more of them pay in kind
The maturity wall in the private credit books, by year, spread and payment in kind.
The price of money, 2021 to 2026
Dilution by stage, down rounds, private credit yields, payment in kind and four meanings of default, from the published record.
140 gigawatts waiting for money
Projects with a signed grid connection and no construction are the clearest public list of capital about to be needed.
Ocker Hill: how a ten-year toll turned a battery into bank debt
A UK battery storage project finance, read from the lenders' own case study and the project company's filings.
The Westshore Grand: how a Tampa hotel refinanced with a third of its debt in mezzanine
A Florida hotel refinancing in two layers of debt, read from the lenders' announcements and the senior lender's own securitisation filed with the SEC.
Start with a question
All questions →- Should I raise debt, equity or a mix of the two?
- How much of my company will I give away?
- What valuation can I defend?
- Who is the right investor for us?
- How do I avoid months of meetings with investors who cannot invest?
- How much should I raise, and when?
- Can the business carry debt, and on what terms?
- What does the process look like, and how long will it take?
- What will advisers and agents cost, and are they worth it?
- Where is capital going, and who is about to raise?
The Ledger
How each is measured →Essays
All essays →
A short history of asking for money
Four centuries of raising capital, told through the rules that decided who could be asked, and the books that watched it happen.
Reading in the dark
Why private capital is raised by argument, why the argument is tested one small detail at a time, and where the light gets in.
Case Studies
All case studies →Ocker Hill: how a ten-year toll turned a battery into bank debt
A UK battery storage project finance, read from the lenders' own case study and the project company's filings.
The Westshore Grand: how a Tampa hotel refinanced with a third of its debt in mezzanine
A Florida hotel refinancing in two layers of debt, read from the lenders' announcements and the senior lender's own securitisation filed with the SEC.
Alpine Fire
Alpine Fire: a sprinkler contractor and the price of its debt
A family business, a minority investor, a secondary buyout and a bank club, read from three years of group accounts.
Guides
All guides →The capital stack from the founder's side
Senior debt, unitranche, mezzanine, preferred equity, sponsor loan notes and ordinary shares, read as a founder would.
How private credit prices a loan
Base rate, margin, fees, floors, payment in kind, call protection, covenants and tenor, with the numbers from 31,676 loans.
What investors check before they wire
The checks between a term sheet and the money, and the question behind each one.
Reports
All reports →The price of money, 2021 to 2026
Dilution by stage, down rounds, private credit yields, payment in kind and four meanings of default, from the published record.
The map of American private capital
Eleven years of US private raises, state by state, mapped by volume, money, fill rate, advertising and what each state raises for.
The visible book
What 31,676 private credit loans say about margins, lenders, payment in kind and the maturity wall.