Our relationships, like all long-term partnerships, are based on being open, real, and upfront with all stakeholders. Ensuring that the interests of stakeholders are always aligned and fundamental, consideration is supported with in-depth research that empowers value-oriented decisions and demonstrates viability
Five Crowns Credit Partners was established in 2016 as an affiliate of Five Crowns Capital, which has built a strong record and reputation since 2003 for successfully executing flexible investment partnerships in countless industries. As a flexible, bespoke capital resource outside of traditional financing institutions, Five Crowns Capital is recognized for skillfully and creatively managing buyouts and/or adding growth potential opportunities to middle-market businesses, even within complex situations, such as out-of-favor industries.
Five Crowns Credit Partners was inspired by a compelling market opportunity to form a new platform of direct lending that works with a more wholistic and aligned approach, outside of the limitations of asset-based or cash flow lending parameters. By operating as a hybrid family office and institution investor, we can underwrite situations and industries that traditional lenders and investors can’t.
Managing Director
Christopher Taylor teamed with the partners of Five Crowns Capital in 2016 to build out and lead a new direct lending sister company under the name Five Crowns Credit Partners. He has significant experience across corporate lending, financial and operational restructuring, leveraged buyouts, M&A advisory, and corporate finance with around 20 years of experience in originating, structuring, executing, and managing loans and other debt investments in middle market businesses. Prior to joining Five Crowns, he was a Director at Tennenbaum Capital Partners, a special situations credit investment firm with over $6 billion of assets under management, where he led credit investments in a variety of industries and executed over $600 million of direct loans to middle market businesses. Before joining Tennenbaum in 2008, Mr. Taylor worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs where he advised on M&A and leveraged finance transactions. Prior to this, he also worked at Kayne Anderson Private Investors, a lower middle market buyout firm, and Harvey & Co., a middle-market merchant bank and M&A advisory firm. He has served on the boards of Apothecary Health Solutions, Stadco, Tristrux, AGY Holding Corp, Oxford Resources, and Revere Industries, all lower middle-market businesses. Mr. Taylor holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has spoken on the topic of private equity and corporate lending on various industry panels. Mr. Taylor received his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and his B.S. in Finance from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.
Founder and Managing Partner
Jeffrey Schaffer is the Founder and Managing Partner of Five Crowns Capital and Five Crowns Credit Partners. He currently serves on the boards of Streamland Media, Verrex, and Mob Scene. Prior to founding Five Crowns Capital in 2003, Mr. Schaffer was the Managing Director of Private Equity for The United Company, a privately-held Virginia-based corporation founded in 1970. The diverse, multi-billion-dollar portfolio included companies in energy, manufacturing, distribution, pharmaceuticals, real estate, financial services and golf. As an executive officer, Jeff served on the company’s Operating and Investment Committees. Prior to joining The United Company in early 1999, Jeff was a principal at Marwit Capital, a Southern California based private investment fund with a forty-year history focusing on equity and subordinated debt investments in closely-held companies. He has also held senior positions at Price Waterhouse Coopers and the H.J. Heinz food company. Mr. Schaffer is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, and a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in California. He earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, and an M.B.A. with a dual major in Finance and Strategic Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Managing Partner
David McReynolds is a Partner of Five Crowns Capital, LLC and Five Crowns Credit Partners, LLC. He has nearly 30 years of experience originating, advising, structuring, and investing in middle-market special situations transactions. Throughout his career, he has participated in private equity, structured special situations and distressed debt investments, special situations lending, and M&A and creditor restructuring advisory transactions. Mr. McReynolds was previously with Twin Haven Capital Partners and Versa Capital Management, each with approximately $1 billion in capital under management. He was a Principal and head of the Los Angeles office of the Special Situations Group within American Capital, Ltd., a publicly-traded investment company (NasdaqGS: ACAS) with $20 billion in capital under management at the time of his employment. He is a Past-President of the Southern California Turnaround Management Association Chapter and a Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) member. Mr. McReynolds received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and B.S. from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Vice President
Lisa Matlaf, Ph.D. is a Senior Associate at Five Crowns Capital as well as the Executive Vice President of Beautisol Holdings, LLC. Dr. Matlaf assists in the firm’s deal origination, marketing, communications, and portfolio company oversight in addition to managing the operations of the sunless tanning portfolio company, Beautisol. Prior to joining Five Crowns Capital, Dr. Matlaf spent 10 years in the fields of oncology, molecular biology, infectious disease, and neuroscience. Her investigations have led to over a dozen publications in peer reviewed scientific journals as well as collaborations with several academic laboratories and biotechnology companies.
Dr. Matlaf received her Ph.D from the University of California, Irvine in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (M&MG), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, where she conducted research on novel anti-viral strategies for the treatment of brain tumors in affiliation with the UCSF Brain Tumor SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence). Dr. Matlaf was the recipient of competitive research fellowships from The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) and the NIH, which contributed to the funding of her studies. Dr. Matlaf is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO), and Beauty Industry West (BIW).