A DCM Insider service
The right counterparties for your deal.
Switchboard introduces issuers, investors, arrangers and counsel to the counterparties they need — across investment grade, high yield, private credit, leveraged finance and structured finance.
The idea
Think of it as a search engine for the debt market.
Search for the counterparties you need, see a shortlist, and choose who to talk to. Unlike a web search or a contact database, every result is curated to your deal and is a live counterparty who wants the call — no noise, no cold outreach, no stale profiles.
It’s the idea behind the name. A switchboard operator never advised you or placed your call for you — they found the line and patched you through, once the other side picked up. Switchboard does that for the debt market.
What it is
- A search engine for the debt market
- Results curated to your live deal
- Real counterparties who want the call
- A double opt-in — you choose who to talk to
- Free to use, on both sides
- Out of the picture once you’re introduced
What it isn’t
- A broker or arranger — we don’t structure or run deals
- A database of cold contacts to email
- A match made without your say-so
- A fee, or a success-fee on your deal
- An engagement letter or mandate to sign
- A retainer, or a lock-in of any kind
- Anywhere your deal is listed or advertised
Who Switchboard is for
Built for both sides of every deal.
Connect across the market
Around the world
Desks and funds across every major market and time zone, reached through one point of contact.
Large and small
From bulge-bracket houses to specialist boutiques — whoever fits the deal, not just the usual names.
Across credit
Specialists who know the instrument — from the most vanilla to the most structured — not generalists working a contact book.
Whatever seat you’re in
Switchboard works for your side of the deal.
Pick where you sit and see what Switchboard puts in front of you. Whoever you are, you choose who to talk to — and we only make an introduction once both sides say yes.
Reach the investors who want your deal.
Tell us about your issue and we’ll shortlist the funds and desks most likely to engage — you choose who to talk to.
What you’d see
How it works
From a single call to the right introduction.
An operator works with you directly, then draws on our network of DCM practitioners to find — and confirm — the right people at the right firms.
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Step 01
We talk
An operator works with you to understand your deal and exactly who you need to reach.
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Step 02
We search the network
We draw on our network of DCM practitioners to find counterparties that fit your deal’s requirements.
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Step 03
We confirm, then connect
We check that both sides want to be introduced — a double opt-in. Only then do we make the introduction, by email.
You stay in control the whole way
Typically completed in a few days.
And then we’re done. We make the introduction and step out — no follow-up, no role in the deal, and no fee on whatever you go on to do.
The timeline
No strings at either end.
No engagement letter to start, no involvement once we’ve introduced you. In between, Switchboard does one thing — find the right counterparty and get you talking.
Switchboard’s part
Search · Shortlist · Introduction
We find the right counterparty and get you talking — then we’re done.
Your deal, without us
Diligence · Terms · Documentation · Pricing · Close
We’re not in the room, on the cap table, or in the fee. The relationship is yours.
Nothing to sign to begin. One introduction, then we’re gone.
What you’ll see
You see the shortlist. You choose who to meet.
After your call, we send a shortlist of counterparties that fit your deal. Some have paid to be included and are clearly marked as sponsored; the rest are organic matches. You request an introduction only to the firms you want — and we make it only once they’ve agreed too.
Direct lending to European mid-market sponsors.
Junior and opportunistic private credit.
Senior secured lending to sponsor-backed borrowers.
Lower mid-market unitranche specialist.
Flexible capital for mid-market buyouts.
Private credit within a multi-strategy platform.
Confidentiality
Discretion by default.
You are working on live, sensitive deals. Switchboard is built around that from the first call.
Nothing without your say-so
An introduction happens only when both sides have agreed — a double opt-in, built into every connection. Never an automatic match.
You decide what’s shared
We work only from what you choose to tell us. Your deal is never posted, listed or advertised anywhere.
Handled with care
We treat your information and your intentions with the discretion you’d expect of anyone trusted with a deal in the market.
Why it’s free
Free to use. Here’s how.
Switchboard is free for you to use. We’re funded by sponsored placements: some of the firms in your shortlist may have paid to be included — and those are always clearly labelled as sponsored, never passed off as organic matches.
It changes nothing about how you use Switchboard. Because every introduction is double opt-in, you’re only ever connected to the firms you choose — sponsored or organic — with no obligation to contact, or proceed with, any of them.
Built by the team behind DCM Insider’s market news and weekly newsletter.
We connect you. Then we step back.
No retainer. No success fee. No seat at the table. Once both sides are talking, the relationship is yours to run.
No gotchas
The questions people don’t ask out loud.
- Is there anything to sign?
- No — no engagement letter, no mandate, nothing to onboard. You just talk to us and use it. Beyond the website’s standard terms and privacy policy, there’s nothing to sign, and no obligation if you get in touch.
- Are you involved in the deal?
- No. We make the introduction and step out — we’re not a party to anything you go on to do.
- Do you take a cut?
- No fee, and no success fee — ever. The service is free to use, funded by clearly-labelled sponsored placements.
- Do you need updates from me?
- No. Once you’re introduced, you won’t hear from us about the deal again unless you want to.
- Whose relationship is it?
- Yours. We don’t sit in the middle of it or claim the deal — the counterparty is yours to work with directly.
- So where’s the catch?
- There isn’t one. Sponsors pay to appear in results — always marked — which is what keeps Switchboard free. You’re never charged, never obliged, and never connected to anyone without your say-so.
Enquire
Tell us about your deal.
Complete the form and an operator will be in touch to arrange a call. No obligation, and always confidential.
Prefer not to use the form? Contact us directly.