Capital from nonbank lenders
A private fund or specialist lender provides financing directly to the business. Funding may arrive as one loan or be available in agreed stages for a transaction or growth plan.
Private Credit
Private credit.
Beyond the standard business loan.
Explore privately negotiated business financing for growth, acquisitions, and complex capital needs. Understand deal structure, diligence, costs, and trade-offs.
Funding range$1M–$30M+
Financing termStructured
Funding typeSpecialty
Typical funding time2–8 weeks
RepaymentDeal-specific
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Private credit,
explained.
Private credit is financing provided by private funds and other nonbank lenders. Its terms are negotiated around a particular business or transaction, rather than a single standardized loan product.
It can support situations that need a more tailored structure, such as an acquisition, a major expansion or a refinancing involving several existing obligations. The lender evaluates the business’s cash flow, assets and transaction plan to decide what it is prepared to fund.
Funding may be provided upfront or made available in stages when agreed conditions are met. Repayment, collateral, guarantees and financial covenants are negotiated as part of the deal. A tailored agreement still comes with underwriting and ongoing obligations for the borrower.
Compare the full economics, including interest, arrangement fees, early-repayment costs and any equity-linked terms. Also review the lender’s reporting requirements and what decisions need its consent. The structure should support the business plan without creating commitments the business cannot meet.
Westwind helps you prepare a clear financing request and compare private-credit structures against your transaction and cash-flow needs.
Terms built around the transaction
The amount, term, security, and repayment schedule are negotiated together. The business’s cash flow, assets, use of funds, and transaction risks shape the final structure.
Security and ongoing conditions
Agreements can include collateral, guarantees, regular financial reporting, and covenants: conditions the borrower must continue to meet. These can affect how the business borrows, spends, or distributes cash.
Repayment, interest, and fees
Principal may be repaid over time or at maturity, with interest and agreed fees. Early repayment may carry charges, and some deals include an equity-linked return as part of the cost.
BEFORE YOU APPLY
What you’ll need to get started.
Know what lenders look for and what to have ready. Your advisor helps with the rest.
What lenders look at
Earnings & cash flow
Financial performance and resilience if the business plan falls short.
Capital structure
Existing debt, leverage, ownership, and repayment priorities.
Security & collateral
Assets available to support the facility, where applicable.
Management & purpose
The team, business case, and a clear use for the capital.
Diligence readiness
Financial records, projections, and supporting contracts or valuations.
What to have ready
To start
- Funding amount, purpose & timeline
- Business details & revenue
- Existing financing & credit range
- Your contact details
For lender review
- Historical and current financial statements
- Financial projections with key assumptions
- Existing debt terms and ownership structure
- Transaction overview and use-of-funds breakdown
- Management background and operating plan
- Supporting contracts or valuations, where relevant
IS THIS RIGHT FOR YOU?
A viable deal that needs a different structure.
Start with the purpose, the payback period, and the payment your business can support. Use these signals to decide what to discuss with your advisor.
A stronger fit
- The deal is good but doesn't fit a standard box
- It's big enough to be worth negotiating from scratch
- You need terms shaped around your situation
A reason to pause
- You could just get a cheap bank loan
- It's too small for a private lender to bother reviewing
- Your numbers and records aren't solid enough
The advantages
- Flexible underwriting for non-standard situations
- Can provide larger checks and customized structures
- Useful for growth, recapitalization, bridge, and special situations
- Often faster and more certain than broadly syndicated markets
The trade-offs
- Higher pricing than conventional senior bank debt
- Detailed diligence and legal documentation
- Covenants, collateral, equity kickers, and call protection may apply
- Institutional minimum sizes can exclude smaller transactions
HOW FUNDING WORKS
From application
to funding,
step by step.
Tell us about your business once. We prepare your file, find relevant lenders, coordinate the review, and help you compare your offers.
01 profile05 steps1:1 your own advisor
01
START HERE
Tell us what you need
Fill out one form with the amount, what the money is for, and the basics of your business.
RESULTOne complete business profile
- How much you need and what you will use it for
- Sales, industry, time in business, and what you already owe
02
ADVISOR REVIEW
Go through it with your advisor
Your advisor checks the request with you, gets clear on what matters, and helps gather the documents lenders will ask for.
RESULTA file ready for lender review
- Confirm timing, payment comfort, and business goals
- Collect the statements and supporting documents needed
03
MATCH & ROUTE
We find the lenders that fit
We compare your profile with different types of funding and the requirements of participating lenders.
RESULTA focused lender submission
- Narrow the list to lenders whose rules may fit
- Send the complete file only to selected lenders
04
UNDERWRITING
Lenders review the file
Each lender makes its own decision. We handle questions, document requests, and follow-up so you do not have to chase every party.
RESULTOffers you can compare side by side
- Resolve questions and missing items in one place
- Lay out available prices, terms, payments, and conditions
05
DECIDE & CLOSE
Compare, choose, and get funded
Your advisor explains the cost and tradeoffs, then helps you finish the lender's final conditions and closing documents.
RESULTThe option you choose, taken through funding
- Compare total cost, payment, term, collateral, and flexibility
- Complete final lender conditions and closing documents
How fast you get funded, what you're offered, and whether you're approved at all depend on your business, your paperwork, and the lender. Nothing here is a guarantee of an offer or approval.
LOOK AT THESE TOO
Other options worth comparing.
Don't pick on the rate alone, and don't pick on the biggest number you're approved for. Compare the whole deal.
QUICK ANSWERS
Questions people ask about private credit.
Is private credit only for distressed companies?
No. It also finances healthy growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, bridges, and sponsor-backed transactions that need speed or structural flexibility.
What is call protection?
Call protection compensates the lender if the borrower repays early, often through a minimum interest period or declining prepayment premium.
What decides whether I get approved?
Lenders mostly look at what the business is worth, what it earns, what it owns, who's behind it, and whether the plan makes sense. Each one has its own rules about credit, paperwork, and what it takes to say yes.
How fast can I get the money?
Plan on 2–8 weeks. It can take longer if the deal is complicated, your paperwork is slow, an outside report is needed, or the lender asks for more.
What should I compare between offers?
Ten things: the total dollars you pay back, the true yearly cost, how often you pay, how long it runs, what you put up as collateral, what you personally guarantee, the rules you agree to follow (covenants), what happens if you pay it off early, the fees, and whether the money earns more than it costs.
YOUR NEXT MOVE
See whether private credit fits your business.
One application. Every option that fits. A clear path to the money.
Get funded