Authored by Ben Skilbeck (CEO)
Private credit has always thrived in the gaps between bank mandates and borrower realities, between urgency and bureaucracy, and between asset value and liquidity. Those gaps are widening. For borrowers, access to capital is important, however, access to flexible capital is critical – both to ensure that capital can adjust to allow borrowers to take advantage of opportunities but also to adapt to navigate adverse situations.
Global economic conditions remain uncertain. Business models are evolving faster, especially with the rise of AI. In this environment, lender flexibility is not simply a competitive advantage, it is fast becoming a precondition for relevance.
At GCI we consistently see that flexibility is the common denominator that unlocks outcomes, whether that means funding growth, preserving momentum, or avoiding forced decisions under stress.
This is not about being lenient or opportunistic, it’s about designing specific capital solutions that work with the unique and often complex requirements of a borrower to enable them to achieve their goals. We call this Transformational Credit.
The Constraints of Standardisation
Most borrowers do not fit neatly into conventional frameworks. They are part-way through growth plans. They are mid-deal. They are navigating competing priorities: equity dilution, liquidity constraints, creditor pressures, competition and time.
Traditional lenders struggle to respond to this. Their capital is structured around predictability: stable earnings, immovable covenants, and backward-looking metrics.
In contrast, private credit is defined by what it can solve for: variable revenue, evolving asset bases, unusual assets, and compressed timelines.
But not all private credit is created equal. Flexibility, real flexibility, requires:
- Thinking like a business owner to understand borrower needs.
- A willingness to see through and underwrite complexity.
- An ability to structure bespoke solutions, not forcing bureaucratically devised standard terms.
- The capital certainty to give borrowers the confidence to act at critical moments.
- A commitment to staying close to the asset and the borrower throughout the life of a loan ensuring agility when required.
Three Principles That Underpin Flexibility
Whether funding a logistics fleet, unlocking value from real estate, or supporting a turnaround, we believe flexibility in private credit is built on three principles:
- Structure First, Capital Second
The right structure beats a larger cheque or lower rate. We have seen borrowers turn down seemingly cheaper facilities because they lack alignment or adaptability. Experienced borrowers value certainty and flexibility more than a marginal rate.
- Speed Without Sacrificing Discipline
Fast execution does not mean loose underwriting. It means disciplined processes, deep experience in deal execution and business (as both managers and business builders) and streamlined governance. Our ability to settle quickly is not due to shortcuts, it is due to preparation and a founder-led responsive investment committee.
- A Clear View of the Exit
Every borrower has a plan. Our challenge is to understand not only that plan, but how it might evolve. We focus early on the path to repayment: what it looks like, what might accelerate it, and what might stand in its way. By planning for the eventual repayment from the outset, we ensure we are equipped to support outcomes that protect value and enable flexibility when it matters most.
What Flexibility Looks Like in Practice
Across our three strategies, we see flexibility take different forms, however, the rationale is always the same: create space for the borrower to realise value, without constraining them with a static view of risk.
- Asset Backed Finance: Structurally Aligned with Specialised Assets
We supported an infrastructure construction business by structuring a facility secured against a portfolio of unencumbered, highly specialised assets. The equipment, maritime in nature and spread across multiple jurisdictions, was atypical and difficult to value, creating barriers for traditional lenders. Our ability to assess and lend against these non-standard assets provided the business with timely liquidity and the flexibility needed to support continued operational growth.
Another recent example is that of an emerging SME lender. We have extensive experience with early-stage high-growth lending platforms, who require a flexible partner that can grow and adapt with them. Within the first month, this emerging SME lender presented us with several ineligible loans that we nonetheless were quickly able to get comfortable with, given they aligned with the credit profile and economics we understood. By being flexible and approving these loans, it enabled the borrower to maintain their pace of origination and avoid missing high-quality opportunities – matching funding to the borrower’s underlying asset growth.
- Real Estate Credit: Funding When the Clock Is Ticking
Property deals do not wait for credit committees. When a high-net-worth borrower required bridging finance within eight business days, we provided a senior secured loan across a quality portfolio with favourable terms, giving the borrower breathing space, not just capital. Traditional channels could not move fast enough.
Speed and certainty were the outcome needed. What made this possible was not reckless deployment of funds, but rather, an experienced and committed underwriting team working to deliver timely solutions.
- Strategic Capital: Planning for What Comes Next
Restructuring is often thought of as reactive. But we approach it proactively. We underwrite scenarios and not just forecasts. We plan for changing circumstances and have expectations of working to improve client outcomes.
In one turnaround case, we undertook a deep financial and operational review followed by assisting with solution implementation. We worked with the borrower to map tax liabilities, commercial constraints, asset alternatives, and introduced additional industry specialist management. Costs were reduced and a pathway to asset sales and refinancing was achieved.
Our ability to work in this manner with our borrowers is what gives us the confidence to support complex borrower scenarios.
Conclusion: Flexibility Is Not a Feature, It Is a Requirement
In the mid-market, businesses change shape quickly. Strategies shift. Assets are bought and sold. Working capital ebbs and flows. A facility that fits in January may restrict growth by December. In this market, rigidity is risk. Flexibility is foresight.
At GCI, we believe that flexibility is not something that happens once a deal is done. It is embedded from day one in the structure, the terms, and the relationship. That is the essence of Transformational Credit: capital designed to move with a business, not hold it back. It should facilitate upside for and also reduce risk for a borrower’s shareholders.