Troels Andersen · Private equity, family offices & special situations · Dubai / UAE
I work with private equity sponsors, family offices, and management teams on three things: building and fixing operating companies, shaping and filtering direct deals, and designing capital stacks that fit the underlying engine. I bring an operator's view of cash and customers and a structured-finance toolkit, with the GCC as a live vantage point.
I am brought into situations that are important enough not to be left to generic advisors: platforms that should become fund-defining assets, portfolio companies where value is at risk, and direct deals that need a real operating and capital plan. I work both as a structured capital partner and as a senior operator inside those companies.
Who I work with: mid- and upper mid-market PE funds · family offices · their portfolio companies and principals.
15+ years across structured finance, venture building, and capital markets. Started at BlackRock in London, then spent a decade founding and running companies across MENA, East Africa, and Southeast Asia — from regulated lending platforms to mobility businesses operating in 12 cities.
Five platforms built or co-founded. $370m+ raised and structured across debt, equity, and secondaries. Regulated in ADGM (Category 4). MSc in Financial Engineering from Copenhagen Business School.
Three recurring themes: portfolio companies that need a better engine, direct deals that should compound for principals, and capital structures – including private credit – that support rather than distort the business.
Hands-on work with companies owned by PE funds or families where cash, capital structure, and operations need to move together.
Support on originating, shaping, and filtering direct deals that fit a family office or PE thesis.
Design capital stacks around the underlying engine – equity, preferred, and private credit where it genuinely fits.
Examples of how this shows up in practice. Full detail and references are available under NDA for serious counterparties and search firms.
Co-founder & CEO, trade finance platform (MENA)
Senior advisor / de facto operating partner
Structured capital & deal partner
Clear formats that protect everyone's time. Economics and depth can be tailored to fund size, family set-up, portfolio, and mandate.
Mandate-style engagement working alongside management as an extended operating / capital partner.
For funds and families who see many opportunities but want a sharper, more disciplined filter.
For platforms and operating companies that need a coherent funding architecture.
Typically relevant for principals with platforms or operating companies at enterprise values from c. $20m+ or specialist platforms with portfolios and facilities from c. $10m+.
I live and work in the UAE and maintain operating infrastructure here. It acts as a real-time lab for how inventory, receivables, and cash behave in the GCC – useful when your thesis, family capital, or portfolio touches the region.
Not a news feed. These are the lenses I use when looking at platforms, portfolio companies, and direct deals for PE funds and families.
How I think about cash, behaviour, and decision-making when capital is family or fund money, not index capital.
Using equity, preferred, and private credit as tools to support the engine, not as products in search of a story.
Where the UAE / GCC genuinely adds edge for PE and family offices – and where it should remain an option, not a headline.
For mandates, portfolio roles, or specific situations, email troels@ndersen.xyz.
Calendaring by request. Encrypted channels (PGP, Signal) are available for sensitive or time-critical matters.
A private room contains detailed transaction lists, mandate summaries, references, and example reporting. Access is available for serious search assignments and principal-side mandates.