Mandate
Document credit box, authority, capital and timing.
Debt
Lender & Credit-Fund Advisory
Market-entry, security and enforcement advisory for credit funds and lenders deploying into the GCC.
Image · Lender & Credit-Fund Advisory
Overview
International private credit funds entering the GCC face court-driven enforcement measured in years, security agents required by licensing rules, escrow regimes that dictate where loan proceeds flow and insolvency frameworks that remain largely untested. Matchpoint advises credit funds, family offices and institutional lenders on security packages, escrow-compliant structures, local agent arrangements and realistic recovery analysis — and originates qualified GCC borrowers matched to their mandates.
As part of our Debt practice, Matchpoint Partners has originated and led $2+ billion of transactions across four continents, and every debt mandate is led by a partner, from first call to close.
The central mandate decision. Define the credit thesis, target return and downside protections before committing time to full underwriting. A lender should know which risks are accepted, which are mitigated and which require a condition or pricing response.
What capital providers or counterparties will test
Quality of earnings, cash conversion, leverage, collateral, legal structure, sponsor support, management capability, sector risk, covenant design and recoveries under stress.
How the mandate is structured
The review can support origination screening, independent underwriting, term-sheet design, club or syndication strategy and post-close monitoring. Independence and access to primary evidence should be agreed at the outset.
Execution priorities
Use a staged review with early red flags, a documented base and downside case, and a decision memo that ties every material risk to structure, pricing, covenant or decline.
Prepare before approaching the market
- Borrower information pack and management access
- Integrated credit model and sensitivities
- Security, structure and legal-entity map
- Credit paper with conditions and monitoring plan
How Matchpoint helps
Our role on lender & credit-fund advisory mandates
- Security-package and enforcement-risk structuring (UAE & KSA)
- CBUAE-licensed security-agent arrangements for foreign lenders
- Escrow-compliant disbursement and cash-control structures
- Qualified deal flow originated to your mandate and ticket size
Track record
Select transactions
Representative debt mandates led by Matchpoint partners.
Infrastructure · Nordics
$100m
Data centre construction & refinancing facility.
Real Estate · UAE
$300m
Ultra-premium land bank — Sukuk + private credit at ~8.5%.
Real Estate · Dubai
$190m
Receivables financing with tripartite escrow.
Industrials · UAE
$15m
Working capital via invoice discounting & supplier finance.
Matchpoint Insights
Research relevant to this area
Original analysis and decision frameworks from the Matchpoint team.
Private Credit · GCC
The Rise of GCC Private Credit: Why Direct Lending Is Reshaping Mid-Market Financing in the Gulf
Private Credit · MezzanineThe Mezzanine Gap: Filling the Space Between Senior Debt and Equity in GCC Real Assets
Special Situations · CreditSpecial Situations Credit in MENA: Pricing Distress, Complexity and Time Pressure
Questions, answered
Lender & Credit-Fund Advisory — frequently asked questions
Onshore mortgages must be held by a CBUAE-licensed institution; foreign lenders appoint a licensed security agent — a structure we arrange routinely.
Onshore foreclosure is court-driven and can exceed twelve months; underwriting should reflect it, and our structures are designed to avoid ever needing it.
Yes, but onshore mortgages must be held by a CBUAE-licensed institution, so foreign lenders lend through structures with a licensed security agent — a standard arrangement we help put in place.
Senior secured real-asset lending typically prices in the mid-teens, with mezzanine and special situations higher — a premium that reflects bank retrenchment and structuring complexity rather than weak credits.
Enforcement timelines: onshore foreclosure is court-driven and can exceed twelve months, and self-help clauses are void — structures should be designed so enforcement is never the plan.
Matchpoint originates senior, mezzanine, hybrid and structured debt from regional banks, international lenders and private credit funds, structured around your transaction. Tickets range from USD 5m to USD 500m+.
Private credit is non-bank lending from specialist funds, typically senior or unitranche, offering speed and flexibility. We maintain relationships with private credit funds active in the GCC and India.
Yes. We structure Sukuk and Shariah-compliant private credit, including blended structures pairing a Sukuk tranche with conventional debt.
Engagements ordinarily combine a retainer with a success fee. Terms are agreed in writing before work begins and calibrated to the mandate’s size, scope and complexity.
Most mandates reach a first term sheet within 30 days, depending on diligence readiness and structure; closing follows once terms are agreed.
A short, confidential scoping call and NDA; we structure the requirement and prepare materials, then run a competitive process across our 5,000+ investor and lender relationships, and negotiate to close — with a partner leading at every step.
Matchpoint Partners is based in the UAE and runs cross-border mandates across the UAE, KSA, India and the UK, with active deal activity in wider Europe, Singapore and the United States.
Matchpoint undertakes corporate finance, financing, M&A and fund-placement mandates from USD 5m upwards, subject to mandate fit, diligence, applicable regulation, capacity and a written engagement. The partner team has originated and led $2+ billion of transactions.
Use the enquiry form, email contact@matchpoint-partners.com, or call/WhatsApp +971 52 345 1119. Every mandate is led by a partner from the very first conversation.
Yes. Confidential information is handled under the engagement terms and any applicable non-disclosure agreement.
Related
More in Debt
Entering the GCC? Start with a market briefing
Book a partner-led briefing on security, enforcement and deal flow — and leave with a realistic deployment map for your mandate.
Lender onboarding
How do lenders and credit funds start working with a buy-side advisory team?
Start with a written deployment mandate covering decision authority, ticket range, instruments, sectors, geographies, target risk and return, security requirements, sponsor criteria, exclusions and timing. The adviser can then screen borrower opportunities and standardise information for credit review.
What information should a lender deployment mandate contain?
Include fund or balance-sheet mandate, available capital, ticket limits, permitted instruments, sector and geographic limits, target economics, security policy, covenant expectations, sponsor criteria, approval process and deployment timetable.
Pipeline
Screen borrowers and sponsors against agreed gates.
Underwriting
Standardise financial, security and downside information.
Execution
Coordinate questions, terms, diligence and closing readiness.
