Equipment financier Coex Capital secures $200m warehouse, fresh equity

Coex Capital, a specialist equipment financier founded by former GE Capital operatives Michael Burke and Craig Jones, has ruled off a joint equity and debt raise led by specialist property fund manager Burtonwood Investment Partners and a big four bank.

The Neu Capital-advised funding round, first flagged by Street Talk, will see $18 million walk through Coex’s doors, backed by Burtonwood, existing shareholders and strategic investors like asset finance broker Moody Kiddell & Partners, crane rental company Tat Hong and director Peter Lancken.

The financier has also secured a $200 million securitisation warehouse which was contingent on the equity component being locked in. A major Australian bank provided the senior funding while credit fund Alexander Funds tipped in mezzanine debt.

Coex Capital will use its new diversified capital stack to scale its business and provide its clients – primarily small-to-medium enterprises in need of excavators, trucks, trailers and light commercial vehicles – with additional funding lines via its broker network.

Sydney boutique Allunga Advisory kicked off the equity raising in February while Neu Capital advised Coex on the debt. In a flyer circulated to potential investors earlier this year, Coex said it was shooting for a billion-dollar book and $20 million-plus earnings by the end of financial year 2028. It added that major banks have pulled back from direct asset financing, and now operate in the segment via specialists like Coex.

Burke and Jones worked in plum roles at GE Capital until its breakup in 2015. Jones was GE Capital’s chief credit officer in Australia, while Burke was the general manager of its local equipment finance business. They founded Coex in December 2022, lent their first dollar in a month later and closed a Series A funding round in March 2023.