Lender Spotlight: Using Enterprise Value as Collateral for Senior Debt (Up to $25mm)

I wanted to share a recent lender relationship that meaningfully expands the financing toolkit for searchers, operators, and independent sponsors. I’ve been working with a bank that will underwrite senior secured loans using enterprise value as part of the collateral package, rather than relying solely on hard assets like real estate or equipment. For the right business, this can result in a fully secured structure with materially better pricing than typical cash-flow or unitranche solutions. A few highlights: • Senior secured loans up to $25 million • Underwriting anchored in enterprise value, normalized EBITDA, and cash flow durability • Applicable for acquisitions, refinancings, growth capital, and structured recapitalizations • Particularly relevant for asset-light or mixed-asset businesses where traditional collateral is a constraint • Local credit decision-making with flexibility on structure when fundamentals support it Why this matters: many strong lower-middle-market businesses have defensible enterprise value but limited hard collateral. In those situations, sponsors often default to more expensive capital than necessary. Thoughtful bank structures like this can materially improve pricing, leverage, and overall deal economics. I work as a debt and capital-structure consultant, helping sponsors and operators think through leverage, structure, and lender fit early in the process, and then running focused outreach when appropriate. I’m also always looking to expand my lender relationships where there’s a clear use case and mutual fit. If you’re working on a deal in the $5–25mm debt range and are running into collateral, structure, or pricing constraints, feel free to comment DM or email redacted happy to compare notes or be a sounding board.