Negotiating personal guarantee in a self-funded search

searcher profile

February 04, 2026

by a searcher from INSEAD in London, UK

Hi all, I am curious if anyone has navigated the personal guarantee (PG) component with the lenders. So far, most UK lenders I’ve spoken to have required a sizeable personal guarantee. A couple of quick questions: 1. Has anyone come across lenders in the UK / Europe who require lower personal guarantees or are more flexible? 2. For those doing a sponsored search (1–2 investors), how does the sponsor dynamic work in practice: have you been able to remove, lower the PG? How common is it to spread the PG across sponsors? Would love to chat one-to-one or hear comments here. Thanks in advance!
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Reply by a searcher
from Maastricht University in Hamburg, Deutschland
From my experience (in Germany), for debt tickets under 5m - you have little power to negotiate it away as you are dealing with the "local corporate" team of the bank and they have strict rules which they have to stick to. If you move above 5m, personal guarantees should not be a problem. However if you have other HoldCo Assets and/or 40-50% equity than even the local bank team should be willing remove personal guarantees or you keep a "symbolic" amount due to internal bank guidelines. However this is Germany of course :)
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Reply by an intermediary
in London, UK
There are various lenders who would move forward without PG. We are happy to help you navigate the landscape if you reach out with your specific details at redacted
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