The firm's principal capital arm. We arrange capital and own positions in every transaction.
Private capital used to be done by firms that stood on the same side as the principals they advised. They originated transactions, committed their own capital, and arranged additional capital alongside it. The model known historically as merchant banking worked because the firm's economics, judgement, and risk sat in the same place.
The model fragmented through the 1980s and 1990s. Most merchant banks were absorbed into universal banks, where balance-sheet capital and advisory income drifted into different divisions with different incentives. The original integration of advising, financing, and owning went with them. What replaced it was a market split between balance-sheet investment banks, fee-only advisory boutiques, and discretionary fund managers, each holding a fragment of the original model.
Ladd Capital is built on the original architecture. The firm originates transactions on behalf of issuers and arranges capital on behalf of investors. It participates in every transaction it arranges, through cash co-investment, equity participation, or carried economics. The economics, judgement, and risk sit in the same place because they always should.
The division has two arms. For issuers, capital placement and investment advisory. For investors, co-investment and syndication. The firm participates in every transaction across both.
The firm advises principal-led companies, founders, family enterprises, and sponsors on capital arrangement across growth equity, recapitalisation, structured credit, and direct real estate. The work spans origination, structuring, investor identification, term formation, negotiation, and close. The firm acts as placement agent where the structure calls for it, and as principal counterparty where it does not.
See capital placementThe firm arranges direct co-investment in the transactions it originates through transaction-specific vehicles. Investors participate on a deal-by-deal basis, with capacity for direct cap-table positions at scale. The firm co-invests or carries structured economics on every transaction syndicated. No blind pools, no discretionary mandates.
See co-investmentCapital arrangement only works when the firm has its own position. Ladd Capital takes a stake in every transaction through cash co-investment, equity participation, or carried economics. The firm does not place capital it has not personally underwritten. It does not arrange transactions it will not participate in. The economics align with both sides of the table by design.
Principal capitalFounders, principal-led businesses, family enterprises, and sponsors raising capital for growth, recapitalisation, succession, platform M&A, divestiture, cross-border expansion, and bridge financing. Capital ranges from $5M to $250M per transaction.
Growth capital — for businesses scaling past proven economics.
Recapitalisation — partial liquidity for founders and families.
Succession — generational and founder-retirement transitions.
Platform M&A — platform identification and roll-up financing.
Acquisition financing — single-target acquisition capital.
Management buyout — capital for MBO and MBI transactions.
Pre-IPO — late-stage capital ahead of public listing.
Divestiture — corporate carve-outs and sponsor exits.
Bridge financing — capital ahead of a larger transaction.
Cross-border structuring — multi-jurisdictional capital arrangement.
Family offices, individual investors, institutional and sovereign allocators, and private equity and venture principals deploying capital into direct private transactions on a deal-by-deal basis.
Family offices — direct allocation alongside the firm, with cap-table access at scale.
Individual investors — deal-by-deal access through the platform, from $100K.
Institutional and sovereign — direct co-investment with bespoke structuring.
Private equity and venture principals — discreet deal flow alongside personal allocations.
Minimum commitment: $100K per transaction; $250K typical. Direct cap-table positions available at scale ($1M+ for family offices, $10M+ for institutional and sovereign).
Start investingA short summary of what the firm underwrites. Detailed criteria, including sector priorities and structural preferences, are on the full criteria page.
Capital size
$5M – $250M per transaction
Geographies
New York, Palm Beach, George Town, London, Zürich, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney
Sectors
Technology and software, real estate and development, energy and natural resources, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, infrastructure and logistics, consumer and luxury goods, industrials and manufacturing, defence and aerospace, hospitality and entertainment, media and telecommunications
Transaction types
Growth equity, recapitalisation, structured credit, direct real estate, platform M&A, acquisition financing, bridge financing
The firm holds principal positions in a small number of disclosed ventures alongside its broader, confidential transaction work. Client mandates remain confidential by policy.
Selected positions will appear here as they are disclosed.
Ladd Capital sits within Ladd & Co. as the principal capital arm. Every transaction draws on the firm's full advisory bench: M&A, international structuring, tax, governance, debt recovery, banking, and treasury. The Capital division is the firm's investment expression; the broader firm is its operating substrate.
Firm capabilitiesIf you are a principal raising capital for growth, recapitalisation, M&A, succession, or structuring, bring the situation to the firm. Submissions are reviewed by the Capital team and routed directly to a senior banker.
If you are an investor deploying capital into direct private transactions, the firm's platform routes you through eligibility and access to the current investment pipeline.
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