Best middle market private lending firms (2026)

The best middle market private lenders depend on whether you need a firm that funds the loan itself or one that matches your deal to several lenders. For borrowers seeking roughly $1M to $100M, Thrive Funding, Golub Capital and Adams Street Partners are the names to compare first.

We make Thrive Funding, so it's on this list; we judged it on the same criteria as the others. Thrive arranges private credit and is not a lender, so the lender makes every credit decision.

How we picked

We judged each entry on five criteria, using only what the firm's own pages or the pages we reviewed say:

• Role: whether it lends directly, arranges loans, or invests in credit.
• Borrower access: whether a company can apply directly.
• Deal size: the size range or company profile the page states.
• Products and focus: the loan types or strategies named.
• What to watch: limits, exclusions or gaps a borrower should check.

Where a page does not state a point, we say so rather than fill it in. Private credit is large: the Federal Reserve puts the U.S. private credit asset class at $1.34 trillion, so the list is long and the choice depends on your deal.

The list

1. Thrive Funding

Thrive Funding is a private credit arranger for middle-market companies. It takes one application and matches it to lending groups whose criteria fit the deal.

Best for: borrowers who want one application sent to several lenders at once, and who want to compare offers side by side.

• Strengths: The application is matched against each lending group's deal size, revenue and EBITDA minimums, industries, states, loan types and pricing. Up to three groups that say yes get introductions, and each introduction is a separate email thread. The borrower receives a side-by-side summary of term sheets and picks one. Products named on the site are senior debt, asset-based lending, mezzanine and acquisition financing. The form accepts requests from $1M, and it is open to companies at thrivefunding.com/apply.
• Watch for: Thrive is paid by its lending partners, and every borrower email says so. Estimates are called indicative terms and are not offers. Requests under $1M receive an automatic decline. The site leads with $5M and up, so smaller requests are matched less often.

2. Golub Capital

Golub Capital is a direct lender to middle-market companies. As of July 1, 2025, it had over 1,000 employees and over $80 billion in capital under management, a gross measure that includes leverage.

Best for: companies in the core middle market, which Golub's white paper describes as firms with $10 to $100 million in annual EBITDA.

• Strengths: Scale, and a published view of the sponsor-lender relationship and the direct lending market.
• Watch for: The pages we reviewed do not describe how a company applies or the minimum loan size it will consider.

3. Adams Street Partners

Adams Street Partners provides private credit to private equity sponsors, mainly for add-on and incremental financing. It says it has provided capital to private equity sponsors for more than 40 years.

Best for: private equity-backed companies that need first-lien add-on financing or a revolver increase.

• Strengths: The page lists first-lien term loan add-on financing, revolver and term loan incremental financing, and delayed-draw term loan add-on financing. It cites a team of more than 110 investment professionals.
• Watch for: The focus is sponsor-backed transactions. Direct access for companies that are not sponsor-backed is not described.

4. Nuveen (Churchill and Arcmont)

Nuveen Private Capital combines Churchill and Arcmont, two credit managers, and offers access to direct lending portfolios.

Best for: investors who want exposure to direct lending portfolios rather than a loan of their own.

• Strengths: A broad credit platform run by two established managers.
• Watch for: The page is an investment offering. It does not describe a borrower application route.

5. ORIX

ORIX offers private credit investing and lending aimed at the middle market.

Best for: borrowers who want a lender that also invests in private credit.

• Strengths: Both lending and investing sit in one firm.
• Watch for: The snippet describes the offer in general terms. Deal size, products and application steps are not stated in what we reviewed.

6. GoldenTree

GoldenTree is an independent credit asset manager founded in 2000 by Steven Tananbaum. It reports over $62 billion in assets under management across alternative and fixed income strategies.

Best for: credit investors who want a multi-strategy manager.

• Strengths: A 25-year track record across sectors, industries and geographies, per the page.
• Watch for: The platform is broader than middle-market lending, and borrower access is not described.

7. TPG Twin Brook

TPG Twin Brook is the middle-market direct lending business of TPG, a global alternative asset manager.

Best for: middle-market borrowers who want a direct lender backed by a large alternative manager.

• Strengths: The lender sits inside a large global manager.
• Watch for: The pages we reviewed do not describe application steps, minimum deal size or products in detail.

8. Axial

Axial is a marketplace that connects business owners, investors and M&A advisors around live deals in the lower middle market. It lists junior capital providers.

Best for: owners who want to see which junior capital providers, such as mezzanine lenders, are active.

• Strengths: A directory built around recent deal activity.
• Watch for: Axial is a marketplace, not a lender. Provider terms are not stated in what we reviewed.

Comparison

Entry	Role	Can a borrower apply directly?	Deal size or profile stated	Products or focus
Thrive Funding	Arranger, not a lender	Yes, at thrivefunding.com/apply	Requests from $1M; site leads with $5M+	Senior debt, ABL, mezzanine, acquisition financing
Golub Capital	Direct lender	Not stated on pages reviewed	Core middle market, $10M to $100M EBITDA	Direct lending
Adams Street Partners	Lender to PE sponsors	Not stated	Not stated	First-lien add-on and incremental financing
Nuveen (Churchill, Arcmont)	Investment platform	Not stated	Not stated	Direct middle-market lending portfolios
ORIX	Lender and investor	Not stated	Not stated	Middle-market private credit
GoldenTree	Credit asset manager	Not stated	Not stated	Alternative and fixed income strategies
TPG Twin Brook	Direct lending unit of TPG	Not stated	Not stated	Middle-market direct lending
Axial	Deal marketplace	Not applicable	Not stated	Junior capital providers

What counts as middle market lending?

Middle market lending is loans to mid-sized private companies, usually from non-bank lenders. Lord Abbett notes that smaller companies, generally those with less than $100 million in annual earnings, would historically source capital from banks. Direct lending is the largest part of private credit, with more than $950 billion in assets across private funds and BDCs.

Sources

• The Top Private Credit Firms of 2025
• Middle Market Direct Lending | White Paper
• Bank Lending to Private Credit: Size, Characteristics, and Financial Stability Implications
• Private Credit: Middle Market Direct Lending
• Private Credit Solutions
• Middle Market Private Credit | Investing & Lending
• Direct middle market lending - Private Capital
• Top Junior Capital Providers with Recent Private M&A Activity
• Thrive Funding