In real estate finance, between sponsors and institutional capital.
MainCap is a German specialist in structured real estate finance. We originate transactions through our sponsor network, structure them to institutional standard and carry them through to closing with the right capital partner. Through established mandate relationships with a select group of institutional capital partners, we place selectively, where a transaction genuinely fits in profile and terms, rather than through a broad marketing process. That precision comes from the founders' experience on the institutional lender side, in senior banking as well as alternative credit.
Combined track record in real estate debt
Combined track record of the founders prior to MainCap, across leading European banks and alternative-credit platforms.
The Market
For decades, German sponsors financed through their house banks on the basis of long-standing relationships. That system has loosened: regulation, consolidation and tighter risk discipline have narrowed the room of traditional lenders. At the same time, institutional capital, increasingly from abroad, is actively seeking access to German real estate financing.
The German market lacks neither capital nor attractive transactions, but the connection between the two. Sponsors and institutional capital providers often do not find each other. And where they do, the deal frequently fails to close: differing market standards, a different financing language, and a structure that does not match the capital provider's risk profile.
This is precisely where MainCap comes in. We know what institutional capital providers require in terms of risk-return, security and documentation, and we structure every transaction so that it meets these criteria and passes the investment committee.
For Sponsors
We connect German sponsors with institutional capital partners across Germany, Europe, Asia and the US: debt funds, insurers, pension funds, family offices and banks. We structure every financing so that it meets the investment and approval criteria of our capital partners.
We open up capital sources that sponsors cannot reach on their own: institutional lenders with a German allocation, from international debt funds to domestic insurers and pension funds, across the full capital structure from senior through whole loan and mezzanine to preferred equity.
We structure the financing, from tranching through security to covenants, so that it clears the institutional approval process. This is our core competence: fewer queries, fewer rounds of revision, a shorter path to a signed financing agreement.
We take on the process load: investment memo, model, data room, communication with the capital partners. On request, alongside your team or independently, we steer the transaction through the entire financing process to closing.
No broad marketing process. As your exclusively mandated partner, we place your financing selectively through established mandate relationships with chosen institutional capital providers for whom your transaction fits in profile and terms. This allows a placement that is discreet, direct and carries a high probability of closing.
Whatever the gap in your capital structure, we place it with the institutional partner whose mandate fits, and structure it to clear their committee.
| Tranche | What we do |
|---|---|
| Senior | We place first-ranking debt with institutional senior lenders holding German allocation: insurers, pension funds, debt funds and foreign banks. An alternative to your house bank. |
| Whole Loan | A single facility covering the full debt requirement, usually at higher leverage than a senior loan. We place it with debt funds and alternative lenders: the right structure where a conventional bank loan no longer reaches the desired volume. |
| A/B Note | We separate a loan into a senior A-piece and a subordinated B-piece, placing the junior tranche with institutional investors: a route to fresh capital where a bank calls for an equity top-up after leverage has risen, without refinancing the entire facility. |
| Mezzanine | Subordinated debt bridging the gap between senior and equity, placed with specialist debt funds or family offices depending on size: additional leverage that frees up your equity, on terms the senior lender will accept. |
| Pref Equity / JV Structures | Capital structured as equity rather than debt, from institutional investors and family offices: additional leverage that preserves your equity and shares risk, sitting above your equity, with no fixed debt service weighing on the asset. |
Every tranche is structured to institutional standard before it reaches a selected group of capital partners: the right instrument for the gap, not simply more debt.
For Capital Partners
For international capital partners, Germany is attractive but hard to access: deal flow is local, relationships are decisive, and sponsor materials rarely come in institutional form. MainCap is your local partner that changes this. We guide foreign capital into the German market and prepare every transaction so that it meets your requirements.
Off-market opportunities from decades of direct sponsor relationships at decision-maker level across Germany.
We have originated, underwritten and managed institutional real estate loans ourselves over decades. We match every opportunity against your investment profile before it reaches you. You see fewer transactions, and more relevant ones.
Structures and documentation to institutional standard, built around your review process. Fewer rounds of revision, a faster process, real time saved and relief for your team.
Decades in this market give us first-hand knowledge of its sponsors, its banks and the local particularities that decide a transaction. You enter the German market with facts, not assumptions.
For Banks & Credit Institutions
MainCap supports banks and credit institutions in the active management of their commercial real estate loan portfolios. Our services focus on three core areas:
We help banks develop targeted structuring solutions across new and existing business. Drawing on years of experience on both sides, bank financing and alternative credit, we combine approaches from both worlds to create a resilient solution. The result is a competitive advantage for the institutions we work with.
We analyse and structure transactions so that banks can actively manage the risk of single positions and whole portfolios within the loan book. The resulting relief allows institutions to improve regulatory metrics and free up capital. Through our network of institutional capital providers, we place these positions on market terms.
MainCap has an established network of institutional capital providers that actively target commercial real estate debt positions, whether performing or non-performing. We identify the relevant investor universe, develop a transaction-ready marketing process and guide the placement through to completion: discreetly, efficiently and with a clear focus on results.
How We Work
From our own network, off-market
Transactions reach us through direct sponsor relationships, ahead of any broad marketing process. We filter them against the profiles of our capital partners, so that only the relevant ones are pursued.
To institutional standard
We structure the financing into institutional form, including tranching, security and covenants, so that it meets the capital partners' requirements on risk-return and documentation from the outset.
Targeted, through to close
We place selectively with the capital partners whose mandate fits the transaction, discreetly and without a broad marketing process. Depending on the tranche, we approach different partners, for example one set for a whole loan and another for a mezzanine position. MainCap carries the process through to signed documentation and funding.
Through to repayment of the financing
Asset management support for your team over the life of the financing: covenant monitoring, reporting and work-out where needed, through the same partners who built the structure.
Our Team
MainCap was founded by Dennis Davidoff and Guido Gerstner, who previously led real estate debt together at a German asset manager. Across much of the debt structure, from senior through whole loans to mezzanine, they worked from the creditor's side, in senior banking as well as alternative credit, with sponsors as borrowers: they underwrote and structured the transactions themselves and oversaw discretionary institutional capital for pension funds and insurers across the full cycle, from raising through investing to portfolio management. They also placed financings with international capital partners and matched them with local sponsors. From that work they understand the decision logic of institutional capital providers and their requirements. Their backgrounds are deliberately complementary: Guido Gerstner brings the origination network across sponsors, capital partners and banks; Dennis Davidoff the depth in credit underwriting, structuring and execution. MainCap brings these strengths together.
Managing Partner
Over two decades in real estate finance, on the senior as well as the alternative-credit side.
Managing Partner
Over a decade structuring, underwriting and executing complex real estate loans across the full debt structure, from senior through whole loans to mezzanine.
Whether you are raising capital, refinancing, restructuring or seeking access to the German market: we are your partner in the German financing market.
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