Practitioner perspective on private credit and mid-market debt.

For UK and European businesses in the lower mid-market, the last two years have quietly shifted in their favour. Record sums are being raised for private credit, banks are pulling back from exactly the kind of lending this segment needs, and a generational wave of succession is pushing specialist lenders to actively look for deals this size. The mega-funds making headlines are chasing transactions much larger, which leaves more room, not less, further down the market. Here is why, and what it means for businesses weighing up their options in 2026.

Private markets have long spoken the language of IRR and TVPI. A growing number of investors now want a blunter measure — how much cash a fund has actually returned. That is why DPI is rising, and why the work of delivering it begins at origination, long before a fund ever reports.