Palatine Growth Credit Fund Passes £50 Million Committed Limits Milestone

Palatine Growth Credit, the regionally focused lender supporting established high-growth businesses, has passed a £50 million committed limit milestone and is pledging to continue to do more to support thriving tech clusters across the UK.

Nearly two years after the first deal from the pioneering £81 million Growth Credit Fund, the team led by experienced tech fund manager William Chappel has grown to six people and completed 13 deals, with many more in the pipeline.

Chappel, whose CV includes stints at Barclays, HSBC and Shawbrook, said: “Our team has boots on the ground in Manchester and London, and we have partnered with some truly exceptional companies based in places like Bristol, Manchester, Cambridge, Wakefield and Nottingham.

“As well as supporting regional companies to grow, organically or by strategic acquisition, our offering has been used to support our clients with creating local jobs as they expand into other UK regions and in some cases enter new international markets.

“We’ve now committed around two thirds of the fund, and we have done what we set out to achieve at launch by supporting established Sponsor-backed companies based across the UK regions to accelerate their growth, whilst giving founders the chance to reduce dilution of their equity stakes.”

A big part of Chappel’s job, alongside the wider team, has been to raise awareness of what the Growth Credit Fund is, and how it can benefit established companies looking to scale at pace.

“The fact that Palatine, an established PE house with a 20-year heritage, has its roots in the regions, has been enormously beneficial in terms of us getting around the advisory communities and getting to know management teams.”

He says the UK tech sector is in a “very good place”, with the transformative power of AI attracting strong investor interest.

“When we raised the fund the UK VC market had slowed in the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict beginning, but the VCs have very much reopened the tap and are investing in the latest wave of UK tech businesses.

“Manchester has been a huge beneficiary and is absolutely flying, particularly in fin-tech, while many other regional cities and towns are doing very well too.

Uniquely for a growth credit fund Palatine Growth Credit has an ESG discount ratchet, whereby if clients meet certain commitments on carbon emissions for example, they will receive a discount.

“Around 20% of our clients have made use of this meaningful benefit, which is pleasing. Sustainability as a business fundamental is embedded at Palatine, so we’ve been pleased to bring this ethos into the Growth Credit Fund,” Chappel added.

Looking ahead, the team is well placed for further growth: “We recently took part in business growth network ClimbUK’s national tour, meeting some great companies in regions such as West Yorkshire, the South West and the North East.

“We are expecting an equally active second half of the year. Beyond this, we look forward to growing our team to support growth in the regions for many more years to come.”