A Polite Laugh in Abu Dhabi

At a private credit event in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, my business partner and our CIO, John Hubball, was speaking with a senior executive from a major institutional allocator. They were discussing the state of the private credit market — structure, returns, and where genuine yield could still be found without stepping into high-risk territory.

John shared the details of one of our latest transactions: a $15 million facility into a U.S.-based education refinance company. The business specialises in acquiring distressed, defaulted, and delinquent private student loans — a niche market with strong margins and a surprisingly consistent recovery profile.

The allocator was engaged. He liked the asset class. Appreciated the structure. Asked thoughtful questions about underwriting performance.

Then he asked John, “What size is the allocation?”

John replied, “Fifteen million dollars.”

The man smiled. Nodded. And politely walked away.

Later that day, John told me the story. We both laughed — not at the reaction itself, but at how perfectly it captured a persistent inefficiency in private markets.

The Overlooked Small Cap, Growth-Stage Market

At Kingsbury & Partners, we focus on the opportunities others can’t touch — or won’t bother to. Not because they’re bad. But because they’re not big enough to justify the machinery of large institutions. We work in the space between the venture crowd and the private equity giants — where companies have EBITDA of £1–5 million, need £5–20 million in credit, and are building something real.

They don’t fit the banks. They’re too small for the funds chasing £100 million tickets. But they’re exactly the kinds of businesses we like: private, often PE-backed, with real cash flow, tangible assets, and a clear use of capital.

That student loan deal? We spent four and a half months on it. Full regulatory review, asset stratification, servicing history, and stress testing every level of the recovery model. We structured the investment through a Credit Linked Note, ensured a minimum 2-to-1 asset to debt ratio, and added layers of downside protection.

Structure Over Scale

It now delivers a 13% net return, with robust asset backing and predictable cash flows. Our clients — institutional, family office, and HNW — get exposure to a misunderstood sector through a structure they can rely on.

But most allocators never even saw the opportunity — because they weren’t looking for it.

And that’s the whole point.

I’ve come to believe that this institutional obsession with size is one of the most overlooked inefficiencies in private markets today.

The Cost of Chasing Size

In today’s environment, bigger often means slower, more diluted, less precise. Too many funds now chase scale for its own sake — and overlook the mid-sized transactions that require genuine underwriting, real structuring, and a disciplined approach to risk.

We don’t do volume. We don’t warehouse deals. We say no far more often than we say yes. And when we do commit, it’s after we’ve turned the structure upside down and asked the hard questions.

Our clients don’t come to us for headlines. They come for access — to the kinds of credit opportunities that don’t show up in pitch books or panel discussions. The kinds of deals that require work.

Disciplined Capital Wins

No, we’re not the biggest. But that’s precisely why we have room to be selective.

And if that means another polite nod and smile from the billion-dollar allocators at the next event, so be it.

We’ll take the discipline — and the returns — every time.