In a tricky exit environment sponsors are doing everything in their power to make a sale go as seamless as possible. One of the ways is to secure a portable financing package ahead of an auction.

Lenders have, historically, been picky on which deals they would provide a portable financing for, but the competitive deployment market has led lenders to soften attitudes towards portability.

Now, market participants are seeing them more frequently, with longer whitelists, looser docs, and fewer requirements, causing an uptick in the frequency of which it is used.

“It's an indication of where the market is,” Alex Griffith, partner at law firm Proskauer, said. “People are looking for solutions to allow for a more flexible exit and this is one of the ways that people make their asset more attractive when it comes to a sale. Lenders are more and more frequently being asked to cater for this.”

Over the last few months, we have seen a number of deals including portability. For example, Blackstone is in talks with private credit lenders to secure around £1.1bn for a refinancing and dividend recap for UK events organiser firm Clarion Events, 9fin reported in October. The debt is expected to have a portability clause.

Another example is the ongoing sale of French financial services group Cyrus Herez where Ardian provided a portable refinancing in June this year.