[01]
General partners
Fund managers raising a vehicle
PE, venture, private credit, real estate and hedge fund managers raising a new vehicle, a continuation fund, or a co-invest sleeve.
Private placement agent Capital arrives from both sides.
We act as private placement agent for funds, companies and listed issuers, raising institutional and private capital without a public offering.
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Issuers spectup has placed for
Companies and funds we have represented on a capital raise or a placement.
“The outreach generated 44 investor meetings and saved me countless hours of unqualified calls.”
Jonathan WeinsFounder and CEO, PopMeals
$18MRaise
44Investor meetings
Series BRound
Investors we booked meetings with, including
Collaborative FundSandbox IndustriesAlpha JWCSeaya VCTau VenturesLeverVCGTM FundSparkLabs
be
CreatorIQ
PopMeals
GORD
KLAYD
OnePulse
BREATHE
Perplexity
Viktor AI
Lane Health
Imperative VC+150 more
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What we have placed, and for whom
Every number here comes out of a transaction we closed.
Sincespectup founded in Berlin2022
Raised, placed and advisedacross companies and funds$760M+
Largest single roundplaced on one mandate£100M
Investor and LP relationshipsevery one from a closed transaction440+
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Issuers we will take a mandate from
Three client types, one engagement model. We are mandated by one side and we stay on that side.
[02]
Private companies
Growth, private debt and recapitalisation
Growth equity, structured private debt and recapitalisations for companies with revenue and a defined use of proceeds.
[03]
Listed issuers
PIPEs and follow-on placements
PIPEs, registered directs and follow-on placements for balance sheet repair, acquisition funding and expansion.
One 30-minute call tells you whether your structure clears and which investors would underwrite it.
Discuss your mandate/ 04
And who we turn down
A private placement mandate is eight to twelve months of one desk's attention, so we take a small number at a time.
✓We take the mandate
We pass×
A manager raising a vehicle, a continuation fund or a co-invest sleeve, with a track record an LP can diligence.
Pre-revenue and pre-product. That is a different job and we are not the right firm for it.
A company with revenue and a defined use of proceeds.
No defined use of proceeds. If the raise has no shape, no investor gives it one.
A listed issuer with a board-approved raise and a reason for it.
A raise that has to close in weeks. We would be taking a fee to fail.
A timeline that allows a real process, eight to twelve months.
An introduction-only arrangement. We run processes; we are not a contact list.
A transaction where it is clear which side we are on.
Both sides of the same transaction. We are mandated by one side and paid by that side only.
Not sure which column you are in? That is what the first call is for.
Discuss your mandate/ 05
What we do as your private placement agent
Five workstreams, and what we hand you at the end of each one. When they run is the next section.
01/ 05
Capital strategy
Valuation and positioning
Offering materials
Investor targeting and outreach
Diligence and close
Capital strategy
Raise size, instrument, structure and the investor profile that clears it, decided before anything goes out.
You holdA structuring memo you can take to a boardValuation and positioning
Comparable transaction benchmarking and the equity story investors underwrite.
You holdA defensible range and the story behind itOffering materials
PPM, investor deck, financial model, term sheet, data room.
You holdThe full document set, investor readyInvestor targeting and outreach
Named target list, warm introductions and signal-triggered outbound across LPs, family offices, pension funds and endowments.
You holdA named list and a live pipelineDiligence and close
Q and A management, meeting prep, term negotiation support, signing.
You holdSigned subscription documentsAll five are scoped, priced and dated in the mandate before any work starts.
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How our private placement service runs, from mandate to close
Drawn to scale on a twelve-month axis, so you can see where the time actually goes. The stages overlap, because in a live process they do.
-
01Mandate Week 1 Signed mandate, raise parameters -
02Positioning Weeks 2 to 3 Equity story, valuation benchmark -
03Materials Weeks 3 to 5 PPM, deck, model, data room -
04Outreach Week 5 onward Target list, first investor meetings -
05Close Month 4 to 12 Term sheet, diligence, signing
Typical placements run eight to twelve months from mandate to close. Scheduling and meeting management inside step 04 run as an investor roadshow.
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What a private placement agent costs
Monthly retainer+Placement fee
Mandate term
Ten monthly retainers while the placement runs, then one placement fee on capital that closes.
01
The retainer
The desk, the materials and the investor outreach. Flat for the term, because the work is.
02
The placement fee
A percentage of capital placed, capped in the mandate. Paid only on capital that closes.
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Three ways to run a private placement, and what each costs you
A private placement agent, a full-service bank, or your own team. These are structural differences between the models, so you can see which one fits everything.
spectupA full-service bank
In-house
Who works it
spectupThe partners you meet on the call. For the whole term.
Full-service bankA coverage banker wins it. An associate team runs it.
In-houseYour CFO, alongside the day job.
Where it fits
spectupLow and mid-market, where a dedicated desk is the difference.
Full-service bankLarger deals, where the fee supports a full desk.
In-houseAny size, until the list runs out.
Investor coverage
spectupA direct book, plus technology-driven outbound to names we have no line to yet.
Full-service bankThe firm's institutional distribution.
In-houseThe relationships you already have.
Sides
spectupOne. Paid by that side only.
Full-service bankRelationships on both sides of the market.
In-houseYour own. No counterparty coverage.
What it costs
spectupRetainer plus a capped success fee, agreed before work starts. Most of it only lands if capital does.
Full-service bankA larger retainer plus a success fee, structured to the deal.
In-houseA high salary. An investor relations hire is a fixed annual cost whether the round closes or not.
If it stalls
spectupThe same people are still on it.
Full-service bankPriority follows the fee pool.
In-houseIt competes with running the business.
Written to be defensible on a call. If you think a row is unfair to the alternative you are considering, say so on the first call and we will argue it out there.
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Every placement agent's network runs out
Ours is 440+ direct investor and LP relationships, every one out of a closed transaction. That reaches further than most books do, and it is still finite. This is exactly how far it goes.
Ring I · personal
40+
Inner circle
Investors we know personally and meet regularly. Introductions happen at the relationship level.
Past the third ring the relationships stop. Most placement agents stop with them. The next section is what happens after that.
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Then the technology takes over
A placement turns on catching an LP between commitments. Two systems built in-house watch for that window: a signal engine on the market, and Valicon.ai on who allocates to what.
01
The window when capital becomes allocatable
A fund closes. A mandate is published. A partner moves. An exit frees capital.
80+triggers watched, continuously
02
The person who signs the allocation, not the inbox
Valicon.ai holds what each name has written before, so the approach is written to them.
3channels worked in parallel
03
The meeting lands before the allocation is spoken for
An introduction in the week the trigger fired gets answered. A quarter later it does not.
74investor meetings on one mandate
A worked example
Pick a trigger.
- The signal
- How we approach it
- What goes out
Run this on your raise
Both systems are live from week one of the mandate.
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Where our private placement agent team places capital
spectup is mandated out of Munich and executes across four regions. A placement runs wherever the capital for that strategy actually sits, which is rarely the market the issuer is in.
Private placement agent services in the United States and Canada. Institutional investors and LPs in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Toronto. U.S. activity runs under SEC Rule 15a-6 through a chaperoning arrangement.
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Sectors we place into
LPs and institutions allocate by strategy before they allocate by name, so the target list is built sector first. These are the nine where our investor relationships are deepest.
- 01AIFoundation models, tooling, applied
- 02FintechPayments, lending, capital markets
- 03HealthtechDevices, diagnostics, care delivery
- 04InfrastructureEnergy, grid, transport and utilities
- 05Deep techPhotonics, materials, advanced compute
- 06B2B SaaSVertical software with real contract value
- 07RoboticsAutomation, logistics, industrial systems
- 08IndustrialPrecision production and supply
- 09Real estateCommercial development and asset portfolios
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Placements we closed
Open a row for the instrument, the investor type and the close.
Materials and positioning
$40M
CreatorIQ
Series D. Creator marketing software.
44 investor meetings generated
$18M
PopMeals
Series B. FoodTech.
74 investor meetings generated
$12M
Artly AI
Series A. Robotics.
Different sizes, different instruments, different jurisdictions. The same desk on every one.
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What issuers say once the round has closed
“Seamless on our Series D. They sharpened our story and delivered materials that set us apart.”
Tim SovayChief BD & Partnerships OfficerCreatorIQ
17 verified Clutch reviews
Which capital mandate you need
You are here
Private placement agent
Funds, private companies and listed issuers placing into an investor base we own.
You are on this page
You are a startup
Startup fundraising consultant
Venture-backed and founder-led companies raising a round rather than placing a vehicle.
Startup fundraising consultant
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Private placement questions we answer on every first call
The questions that come up on almost every first call.
01What does a private placement agent do?
A private placement agent raises capital for an issuer from institutional and private investors without a public offering. The agent structures the raise, prepares the offering materials, identifies and approaches qualified investors, manages diligence, and supports negotiation through close.
02Is capital introduction the same as a placement agent?
Capital introduction usually means a prime broker introducing a hedge fund manager to allocators, as a service bundled with prime brokerage and paid for through trading. A placement agent is mandated and paid by the fund, works a named target list of LPs to a timetable, prepares the materials and sits in the process through to close. The introduction is where our work starts. spectup is not a prime broker and takes no trading side of a relationship.
03What is the difference between a placement agent and an investment bank?
A placement agent is mandated specifically to place securities privately, while a full-service investment bank also runs public offerings, M&A and trading. Placement agents typically work on a retainer plus success fee and concentrate on investor coverage in a defined asset class. More on the distinction in placement agents in private equity.
04How much does a placement agent charge?
Placement agents typically charge a monthly retainer covering process management and outreach, plus a success fee on capital placed. spectup caps the success fee and defines it in the mandate before work begins.
05What types of clients does spectup represent?
spectup represents general partners in private equity, venture, private credit, real estate and hedge funds, along with private companies and listed issuers pursuing institutional placements.
06How does spectup select and approach investors?
Investor selection combines a direct institutional network with proprietary data on what each investor is currently allocating to. Outreach is triggered by live signals such as a new fund close, a partner move or a portfolio company raise, so the approach lands when the allocation decision is live.
07Is spectup a registered broker-dealer in the US?
spectup’s U.S.-related activities are conducted under SEC Rule 15a-6 through a chaperoning arrangement with a U.S. registered broker-dealer that is a FINRA and SIPC member. The arrangement is in place and the activity is fully compliant.
08Is spectup independent?
Yes. spectup has no proprietary products, no fund affiliations and no distribution agreements. The firm is mandated by one side of a transaction and is paid by that side only.
09Which jurisdictions does spectup cover?
spectup executes mandates across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, including cross-border placements with multi-jurisdictional regulatory requirements.
10Can spectup run a PIPE for a listed company?
Yes. spectup advises publicly listed issuers on PIPEs, registered directs and follow-on private placements for balance sheet, acquisition and expansion capital.
11Do you handle fund formation?
No. Fund formation is your counsel's work: the structure, the LPA, the regulatory filings. We take the mandate once the vehicle exists and the raise begins, which is the point where a private placement service earns its fee. If you are still pre-formation we will say so on the first call and point you at the two or three firms that do it properly, because a raise run against an unfinished structure stalls at the first serious diligence request.
We are mandated by one side, and we bring the other one to the table.
Paid by that side only. One call covers fit, structure and who would underwrite it.
01
Raise parameters and materials
02
A 30-minute call on fit and coverage
03
Written mandate proposal
