[01]
Growth
Growth and expansion capital
Senior or unitranche debt for new sites, capex or working capital, sized to the cash flow so the owners keep their equity.
Private debt for established companies Mid-market debt advisory.
spectup raises private debt for growth, acquisitions and refinancing, from banks, credit funds and insurers, acting for the company.
4.9 / 5
Top Capital Market Consulting Company 2026
18 Clutch reviews
18 Clutch reviews
30-minute call on fit
Niclas Schlopsna · Managing Partner
/ 01
Companies that have raised capital through spectup
“The outreach generated 44 investor meetings and saved me countless hours of unqualified calls.”
Jonathan WeinsFounder and CEO, PopMeals
$18MRaise
44Investor meetings
Series BRound
Investors we booked meetings with, including
Collaborative FundSandbox IndustriesAlpha JWCSeaya VCTau VenturesLeverVCGTM FundSparkLabs
be
CreatorIQ
PopMeals
GORD
KLAYD
OnePulse
BREATHE
Perplexity
Viktor AI
Lane Health
Imperative VC+150 more
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What the desk behind your debt raise has raised
/ 03
Debt advisory for growth, acquisitions and refinancing
[02]
Acquisitions
Acquisition financing
Debt for buying a company, including management buyout financing, lined up while the purchase runs.
[03]
Refinancing
Refinancing and recapitalisation
A new facility in place of one that matures or is too tight for the business, or a dividend recapitalisation that returns cash to the shareholders.
One 30-minute call tells you whether your company is ready for a debt raise and which lenders would look at it.
Discuss your debt raise/ 04
And who we turn down
A debt raise has one desk's full attention while it runs, so we take a small number at a time.
An established company with revenue, positive EBITDA and a defined use of proceeds.
A company that is not yet profitable. Lenders lend against cash flow, so that raise is equity.
Debt for growth, an acquisition, a management buyout or a refinancing.
A restructuring or distressed debt.
A timeline that leaves room for the lenders' own credit work.
A facility that has to close in weeks.
The whole raise, from the lender materials to the signed facility.
An introduction-only arrangement. We only run the whole raise.
A transaction where we act for the borrower.
Acting for the lenders as well as the borrower.
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What we do as your debt advisor
Debt raising in five workstreams, and what we hand you at the end of each one.
01
Debt structure
How much debt the business can carry, where it sits in the capital structure, which instrument fits (senior debt, unitranche or mezzanine) and which lenders would underwrite it, decided before anything goes out.
You holdA financing memo you can take to a board
02
Credit story and model
A model with the lender cases and the downside, and the credit story a credit committee underwrites.
You holdA model a lender can test
03
Lender materials
Information memorandum, financial model, management presentation, data room.
You holdThe full lender package
04
Lender targeting and outreach
A named list of banks, credit funds, insurers and family offices, warm introductions and signal-triggered outbound.
You holdA named lender list and live term sheet talks
05
Term sheets to close
Term sheets side by side on pricing, covenants and maturity, the lenders’ due diligence, Q and A, preparing you and your counsel for the negotiation, signing.
You holdA signed facility agreement
We scope and price all five.
Get a proposal/ 06
How a debt raise runs, from engagement to signed facility
Five stages. They overlap: the lender outreach starts while the package is finished, and the lenders run their own credit work before the close.
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01Engagement Engagement Signed engagement, debt need and financials -
02Positioning Structure Debt quantum, instrument, lender model -
03Materials Package Information memorandum, model, data room -
04Outreach Lenders Named lender list, first lender meetings -
05Close Close Term sheets, due diligence, signing
Step 04 runs like an investor roadshow: we schedule and manage every lender meeting.
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What a debt advisor costs
Monthly retainer+Success fee
A monthly retainer while the raise runs, then one success fee when the facility closes.
No success fee. The retainers are the whole cost.
01
The retainer
The desk, the lender package and the outreach, at the same fee every month of the term.
02
The success fee
A percentage of the debt raised, paid when the facility closes.
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Three ways to raise debt, and what each costs you
spectup
Your house bank
In-house
Who works it
spectupA spectup partner leads it, with the team on the model, the lender package and the outreach.
House bankYour relationship manager, who offers the bank's own loan.
In-houseYour CFO, alongside the day job.
Where it fits
spectupMid-market companies that want several lenders bidding for one facility.
House bankA facility that fits the bank's own credit box.
In-houseAny size, as long as you know the lenders.
Investor coverage
spectupBanks, credit funds, insurers and family offices, plus technology-driven outbound to lenders we have no line to yet.
House bankOne lender: the bank itself.
In-houseThe lenders you already know.
Sides
spectupOne. Paid by the borrower only.
House bankThe bank is the lender.
In-houseYour own. No counterparty coverage.
What it costs
spectupRetainer plus a success fee. Most of it only lands if the facility closes.
House bankNo advisory fee, and one set of terms with nothing to compare them against.
In-houseA high salary. A finance hire is a fixed annual cost whether the facility closes or not.
If it stalls
spectupThe same people are still on it.
House bankYou start again with the next bank.
In-houseIt competes with running the business.
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Every debt advisor's network runs out
Ours: 440+ investors and lenders we have closed with, 2,500+ we have taken clients in front of, and the books of 30+ partner firms.
Our capital introduction services
Ring I · personal
40+
We can call them
Investors and lenders we know personally and meet through the year. On a debt raise these are the first calls, made before any lender package goes out.
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Then the technology takes over
Two systems we built in-house tell us when a lender is looking for a credit like yours: a signal engine on the market, and our own data on who lends to what.
- Credit fund closes a new fund
- Lender opens a sector team
- Partner moves to a credit fund
- Peer company refinances
- Insurer lifts its private credit target
- Bank pulls back from a sector
Most triggers stop at our data. The few that fit get one approach, on the channel that name answers on, in the week the trigger fired.
Run this on your debt raise
We run the signal engine from week one of the engagement.
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Debt advisory across four regions
spectup is an international team raising capital across four regions. A debt raise goes wherever the lenders for that credit sit, which is not always the company's home market.
Debt advisory in the United States and Canada. Banks, credit funds and insurers in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Toronto. U.S. activity runs under SEC Rule 15a-6 through a chaperoning arrangement. Debt advisory in Europe. Banks, credit funds and family offices in London, Munich, Berlin, Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan and Stockholm. Debt advisory in the Middle East. Sovereign wealth, family office and institutional capital in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Doha. Debt advisory in Asia Pacific. Institutional lenders and family capital in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney.
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Sectors we raise debt for
Lenders underwrite by sector before they underwrite by name, so we build the lender list sector first. These are the nine where our relationships are deepest.
- 01SoftwareB2B and vertical software on recurring contracts
- 02Financial servicesPayments, lending, insurance and wealth
- 03HealthcareCare providers, benefits, devices and diagnostics
- 04EnergyGeneration, grid, transition infrastructure and utilities
- 05IndustrialsManufacturing, components and industrial technology
- 06Consumer and foodBrands and food operators with repeat purchase
- 07Business servicesAgencies and outsourced services on recurring contracts
- 08LogisticsFreight, warehousing and value-added distribution
- 09Real estateCommercial development and asset portfolios
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Raises the same desk has closed
Materials and positioning
$40M
44 investor meetings generated
$18M
74 investor meetings generated
$12M
Company and fund raises across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia, run by the desk that runs your debt raise.
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Meet the whole team
The spectup partners who run your debt raise
Managing Partner
Niclas Schlopsna
LeadsSales and strategy
Partner & Head of IR
Edwin Mik
LeadsInvestor relations
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What clients say once the raise has closed
“Seamless on our Series D. They sharpened our story and delivered materials that set us apart.”
Tim SovayChief BD & Partnerships OfficerCreatorIQ
18 Clutch reviews
Which spectup service you need
I am
Capital raising for companies
From startup rounds to growth equity and private debt, placed with the investors who fit.Private Placement Startup Fundraising Debt Advisory You are here
Fund placement
Fund managers raising a vehicle, placed with LPs from an investor base we own.Private Placement
Acquiring
For companies, PE firms and HoldCos: the target universe and the off-market approach to owners, run to signing or as introductions only.Buy-Side M&A Deal Origination
Selling a company
We set valuation and positioning, then put several bidders on one timetable to signing.Sell-Side M&A M&A Advisory
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Debt advisory questions we answer on every first call
01What is debt advisory?
Debt advisory is independent advice to a company on debt raising: how much debt the business can carry, where it sits in the capital structure, which lenders to approach and how their term sheets compare, through to a signed facility. The advisor acts for the borrower, never for a lender.
02What does a debt advisor do?
A debt advisor raises debt for a company from banks, credit funds and insurers, acting for the borrower, from the lender package and the outreach through the term sheets to a signed facility.
03What is the difference between a debt advisor and a lender?
A lender provides the money and prices it for its own book. A debt advisor is engaged by the borrower, takes the credit to several lenders at once and sets their term sheets side by side, so the company chooses between offers. spectup does not lend and does not act for lenders.
04What types of debt can a debt advisor raise?
Senior secured loans from banks, unitranche and other direct lending from credit funds, mezzanine and other subordinated debt, and longer-dated private placements with insurers. Which one fits depends on the cash flow, the assets and what the money is for.
05What is acquisition financing?
Acquisition financing is debt raised to buy a company, usually secured on the combined business. Management buyout financing is one form of it. The purchase itself is our M&A advisory work.
06How does spectup choose which lenders to approach?
From a direct network of investors and lenders, and our own data on who lends to what by sector, size and structure. Outreach follows live signals such as a credit fund closing a new fund or a lender opening a sector team. The approach goes out in the week the signal fires, on the channel that lender answers on, so it lands while the lender is looking for deals.
07Does spectup negotiate the terms with the lenders?
No. We prepare you and your counsel for the negotiation, and you negotiate.
08Can spectup raise equity and debt in one process?
Yes. Some raises combine growth equity with private debt, and the same desk runs both. The equity side is our private placement work.
09How much does a debt advisor charge?
A monthly retainer while the raise runs, plus a success fee on the debt raised, paid at close.
10Which companies does spectup raise debt for?
Established middle-market companies, from the lower middle market up, with revenue, positive EBITDA and a defined use of proceeds: growth, an acquisition, a management buyout or a refinancing. A company that is not yet profitable raises equity first, which is our fundraising work. spectup does not work on restructurings or distressed debt.
11Is spectup a registered broker-dealer in the US?
No. spectup’s U.S.-related activities are conducted under SEC Rule 15a-6 through a chaperoning arrangement with a U.S. registered broker-dealer that is a FINRA and SIPC member.
12Is spectup independent?
Yes. spectup does not lend and has no fund affiliations. The borrower engages us and pays us.
13Which jurisdictions does spectup cover?
spectup runs transactions across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. A debt raise can include lenders from more than one of those regions, and the lender package is built so each of them can read it.
One 30-minute call tells you whether your company is ready for a debt raise and which lenders would look at it.
We are engaged by the company, and we bring the lenders.
01
Debt need and financials
02
A 30-minute call on fit and lenders
03
Written proposal