Financing the Comeback: How Private Credit Revives Proven Turkish Exporters

In recent years, Turkish corporates across all sectors and sizes have faced unprecedented challenges. Even companies with strong fundamentals and international operations have found themselves under pressure due to persistent macroeconomic turbulence—including inflation, currency volatility, and tightening domestic liquidity. Many have entered into debt restructuring agreements, concordato (a local form of bankruptcy protection), or formal & informal workouts with lenders.

These processes often come with unintended consequences: restricted access to fresh capital, strained relationships with banks, and limited room to maneuver during recovery. For firms still generating value—especially exporters serving Europe and Turkey’s environs—this financial bottleneck can delay or even derail long-term potential.

Enter Private Credit: A Strategic, Flexible Alternative

Private credit funds offer an increasingly relevant alternative to traditional lending institutions, especially when banks step back due to internal risk constraints or regulatory capital limitations.

Even government-backed export financing programs—such as Türk Eximbank facilities—while theoretically available to exporters, have become harder to access in full due to broader liquidity constraints and macroeconomic volatility. Many companies find that their approved credit lines remain underutilized, or are disbursed with delays, limiting their effectiveness during urgent restructuring or growth phases.

With a higher risk tolerance and bespoke structuring capabilities, private credit investors can:

• Refinance existing debt, offering an exit path to overexposed senior lenders. This can include extending short-term liabilities into longer-term maturities with up to 24 months of principal grace period, helping companies realign their cash flows and avoid liquidity traps.

• Inject growth or working capital, enabling operational recovery and stability;

• Bridge the trust gap, giving companies time to re-establish healthy banking relationships over a 2–4 year horizon.

This approach isn't about "rescue capital" for broken businesses—it’s a strategic catalyst for fundamentally sound firms temporarily disrupted by macroeconomic stress.

Case Study: Anadolu HeatTech – Navigating the Storm with Private Capital

Consider the case of Anadolu HeatTech, a Bursa-based manufacturer of high-efficiency industrial boilers. The company exports over 70% of its production to Germany, Italy, and Egypt, with long-term contracts and a strong client base.

In 2023, Anadolu HeatTech suffered from sharp input cost volatility and interest rate spikes. Despite solid revenues, it struggled to service its TRY-denominated debt and entered a standstill agreement with local lenders.

Traditional banks, constrained by credit committee policies and legacy exposure, were unable to offer a viable refinancing solution.

A private credit fund stepped in with a USD 15 million structured solution:

• USD 10M to refinance bank debt at a manageable tenor and FX structure; This included restructuring short-term liabilities into longer-term debt with up to 24 months of principal grace period, allowing the company to breathe and realign its cash flows.

• USD 5M in growth capital to support export capacity expansion and working capital.

Within 18 months, Anadolu HeatTech regained profitability, secured a major European client, and re-engaged with local banks from a position of strength. The private credit investor exited via a refinancing package provided by a consortium of Turkish and international banks—creating a true win-win outcome.

Anadolu HeatTech is a hypothetical example created to illustrate how private credit solutions may work in practice.

Key Takeaway

For CFOs and financial advisors, private credit should no longer be seen as a “last resort,” but as a strategic enabler in volatile markets—particularly for companies that generate real value but are trapped in capital constraints due to systemic issues.

While private credit may come at a higher nominal cost compared to traditional bank financing, that comparison alone can be misleading. For fundamentally sound companies under macroeconomic pressure, the true cost lies in delayed recovery, missed growth opportunities, lost customers, and disrupted cash flows.

By unlocking liquidity at the right moment, private credit allows businesses to normalize operations, capture demand, and re-enter the banking system from a position of strength—often far outweighing the headline cost of capital.

So ask yourself:

Is the cost of capital really high—or is the cost of waiting higher?