Senior debt

Senior debt is a company’s first ranking debt. It benefits from specific security and is repaid ahead of subordinated debt if the company runs into difficulty. It takes the form of amortising loans or bullet loans, granted by banks or by private debt funds. According to the France Invest and Deloitte study of March 2026, private debt funds invested €5,149m in senior debt across 190 transactions in France in 2025, or 35% of corporate debt amounts, up 42% year on year. The study classifies as senior debt any debt without a unitranche structure. The site’s Senior debt and term loans page presents this financing from €20m.

A company finances a €100m acquisition with €60m of senior debt, €15m of mezzanine debt and €25m of equity. If the assets are sold for €70m after a default, the senior lenders recover their €60m before the mezzanine lender receives the remaining €10m.

• The repayment profile of each tranche, amortising or bullet
• The scope of the security granted over shares, bank accounts and receivables
• The margin level and the financial covenants
• The rights of the senior and subordinated lenders set by the intercreditor agreement