AIF & Private Credit for Real Estate.
Some real estate requirements simply don't fit what a bank or NBFC is built to underwrite — land-stage capital, larger tickets, or a security package that needs bespoke structuring. AIFs and other private credit vehicles exist precisely for this gap, at a price that reflects the risk they're taking on.
Category II AIFs · Institutional Private Credit · Bespoke Security Structures
Where This Becomes Relevant
- The requirement is land-stage or approval-stage, where banks are typically conservative and even NBFCs may have limits.
- Ticket size exceeds what a single bank or NBFC is comfortable underwriting.
- The security package is unconventional — multiple linked assets, JV structures, or promoter-level pledges.
- Speed matters more than the lowest possible pricing, and a private credit provider can move faster than a bank's committee process.
What AIFs and Private Credit Investors Evaluate
- Sponsor Track Record — the developer's history of delivering projects and managing capital responsibly.
- Security & Downside Protection — what's genuinely recoverable if the project underperforms, since private credit typically takes on more risk than a bank would.
- Exit Visibility — the credible path to refinancing or repayment, given the shorter tenor and higher cost of this capital relative to bank debt.
- Fund Mandate Fit — whether the specific fund's investment mandate (ticket size, geography, asset type) actually matches the requirement.
How the Financing Is Approached
Because AIF and private credit funds vary widely in mandate, ticket size and risk appetite, the process starts with matching the requirement to funds that genuinely invest in this specific situation, rather than a mass approach to every private credit name in the market. Pricing and structure are negotiated with the understanding that this capital fills a gap bank/NBFC debt can't, and the facility is typically planned with a clear refinancing or exit path from the outset, given its shorter tenor and higher cost.
What EquiFin Does
Fund Mandate Mapping — identifying AIFs and private credit providers whose mandate genuinely fits the requirement.
Structuring — designing the security and repayment structure around this specific risk position.
Exit Planning — mapping the refinancing or repayment path before the facility is even disbursed.
Execution — managing diligence, documentation and coordination through to disbursement.
Why EquiFin
- We match requirements to funds with a genuine mandate fit, not a generic private-credit mailing list.
- We plan the exit before the facility is structured, given this capital's shorter tenor.
- We use private credit deliberately, for the specific gap bank/NBFC debt can't fill.
- One point of contact from structuring through to disbursement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AIF funding in real estate?
AIF (Alternative Investment Fund) funding refers to capital sourced from SEBI-registered investment funds — typically Category II AIFs focused on real estate credit — that provide structured debt to developers for requirements outside standard bank or NBFC lending criteria, such as larger tickets, land-stage funding, or bespoke security structures.
What's the difference between AIF funding and private credit?
AIFs are one specific, regulated vehicle through which private credit is deployed. "Private credit" is the broader category — non-bank institutional capital, which can be structured through AIFs, NBFCs, or other private lending vehicles — while AIF funding specifically refers to capital coming through a registered Alternative Investment Fund structure.
When does a developer need AIF or private credit instead of a bank loan?
Typically when the requirement doesn't fit standard lending criteria — land-stage or approval-stage capital, larger ticket sizes, unconventional security, or a need for speed that a bank's process can't match. Private credit generally prices this flexibility higher than a bank would, in exchange for taking on the risk a bank won't.
See what documents lenders typically ask for — Documents Required for a Corporate Loan →
The Right Fund Match Matters as Much as the Right Structure.
We connect requirements to AIFs and private credit providers whose mandate genuinely fits, not the first name that says yes.
Discuss an AIF or Private Credit Requirement