Deals done wright!

Financing the purchase of an operating business, by share purchase or asset purchase, is the most demanding lending work there is. Lenders are being asked to finance goodwill: cash flow, customer relationships, and a management transition, not bricks. The file has to prove the earnings are real, the earnings survive the seller's departure, and the buyer can carry the debt.

This is my core practice. Most acquisition files that fail were not bad deals; they were well-priced businesses presented to lenders in a way that could not be underwritten.

Financing for one shareholder to buy out another: a retiring founder, a departing partner, or the next generation taking over the family company. The business itself usually funds the purchase, so the question is whether it can service the buyout debt while continuing to operate.

Succession files reward careful structuring. A passive shareholder's compensation coming off the payroll can transform the cash flow picture, but only if it is documented correctly and flows through the income statement rather than out as dividends.

Revolving credit that funds the gap between paying your suppliers and collecting from your customers. Lines are typically margined against receivables and inventory, priced floating over prime, and reviewed annually. For a growing business, the line is the difference between taking the next contract and turning it down.

The margining formula decides how much of your line you can actually draw. A facility that looks generous on paper can be nearly unusable once ineligible receivables, aged accounts, and inventory discounts are applied.

Fixed-purpose lending for the projects that move a business forward: expansion into new premises, a franchise purchase, leasehold buildouts, working capital injections, or refinancing high-cost debt into a sustainable structure. Includes access to the Canada Small Business Financing Program where the purpose qualifies.

Business lending is underwritten on cash flow first and collateral second, so the story matters: what the money does, what it earns, and how it repays.