Issue #3: Approved Isn't the Same as Funded

A “yes” from the bank isn't the same as a closed deal.

A buyer had a signed LOI on a lower-middle-market services business, SBA financing approved in principle. The catch: the SBA loan wouldn't fund for 45+ days, and the seller had a backup buyer ready to jump in if the closing slipped.

What closed the gap: a roughly $2.5M, 1st-lien bridge to fund the closing on schedule, taken out by the SBA loan the moment it funded. Life: under 60 days.

Outcome: the deal closed on time. The buyer kept the business. The backup offer never got its chance.

Three signals a deal is a bridge candidate

• A hard deadline: a closing, a payoff, an offer that expires.
• Real collateral or a clear takeout.
• A timing mismatch between money that's coming and money that's needed now.

Approval tells you a deal is bankable. It doesn't tell you the money will be there on the date you need it, that's a different problem, and it's the one I solve.

Have a client stuck in that gap? $250K to $10M, 1st through 3rd lien, at deal speed. My inbox is open.

Tim