Lease Back vs. Mezzanine financing Which structure fits your capital or exit goal?

In many conversations with entrepreneurs, property owners and family offices, the same starting situation appears again and again:

There is a high need for capital – but not at any price.

Control, flexibility, discretion and exit options are crucial.

Access to capital is not the challenge.

Choosing the right structure is.

Two of the most effective instruments in real estate and corporate finance are Sale & Lease Back and Mezzanine Financing.

Both create liquidity — but with fundamentally different strategic implications.

Sale & Lease Back – Unlock Capital, Secure Operations

In a Sale & Lease Back transaction, the property is sold to an investor and simultaneously leased back on a long-term basis.

Operations continue unchanged, while capital is released.

Practical Example

A hotel owner holds the property outright:

• Market value: CHF 40 million

• Sale to an institutional investor

• 20–25 year lease agreement

• CHF 40 million immediate liquidity

Strategic Effect

✔ Capital is released

✔ No operational disruption

✘. Ownership is transferred

Best suited for

• Hotels & hospitality assets

• Logistics & light industrial

• Healthcare & care properties

• Entrepreneurs with stable, predictable cash flows

Mezzanine Financing – Retain Ownership, Gain Time

Mezzanine capital sits between senior bank financing and equity.

It closes financing gaps without selling the asset.

Practical Example

Development project with a total volume of CHF 100 million:

• Senior bank financing: 60%

• Equity: 20%

• Mezzanine capital: 20%

Strategic Effect

✔ Ownership remains with the sponsor

✔ Flexible exit options (forward deal, sale, refinancing)

✘ Higher cost than senior bank capital

Best suited for

• Development projects

• ESG-compliant new builds

• Forward deals

• Bridge and growth financing

Direct Comparison – Strategy Comes First

The decisive factor is not the instrument, but the objective behind it.

In practice, financing is secondary to strategy:

• Is capital required long-term or only as a bridge?

• Is a sale planned — or long-term holding?

• Is discretion more important than achieving the absolute highest price?

• Are ESG requirements, operator structures, or forward-deal considerations relevant?

  
  

This is where standard financing ends — and structured advisory begins.

Our Approach – Structured, Discreet Capital Access

We work exclusively on a mandate and advisory basis for entrepreneurs, developers, and international Family Offices.

Direct access to:

• Structured mezzanine capital providers

• Sale & Lease Back investors (DACH & international)

• Family Offices with ticket sizes from CHF/EUR 10–300 million

• Institutional international structures

• Forward-deal and hybrid solutions

• Off-market transactions

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No mass distribution.

No blind mailings.

No platform marketing.

Interested in a Strategic Assessment?

If you would like to evaluate whether

• Sale & Lease Back,

• Mezzanine financing, or

• a hybrid structure

is suitable for your project, this is done confidentially and without public placement.

Note:

Capital solutions are offered exclusively following individual structural and project assessment.

Kontakt: Manuela Olmesdahl - manuela@manuelaolmesdahl.com - manuela.olmesdahl@qovera-capital.com +41 76 376 61 11