The unexpected introduction of mezzanine financing into the €1.4bn debt package for alarm company Securitas Direct this week has set industry pulses racing. However while current market conditions point to increased mezzanine use, there are good reasons for the optimism to be tempered.

The original financing for Securitas - which was purchased by US private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman for €2.4bn from peer EQT Partners - was agreed in June in what is now considered to be a far rosier financing environment.