The Bridge Approach
to Lending

Lending

Borrowers can pay off their loan relationships without penalty or early termination fees.

Originally established as Great Lakes Business Credit in 2002, Bridge Business Credit is an asset-based lender that is focused exclusively on providing business loans of $500,000 to $6 million. Our team of professionals serve enterprises located throughout the Eastern half of the United States.

Lendable Collateral

Accounts
Receivable

Inventory

Machinery and
Equipment

Owner-Occupied
Real Estate

Debtor-in-
Possession

(Chapter 11 and SubChapter
5 bankruptcies)

General Lending Parameters

  • First security interest in all assets of borrower
  • Personal guaranty of principal owner(s) > 20%
  • Notes payable to related parties are subordinated to BBC
  • Weekly borrowing base reporting
  • 12-month facilities; no early termination fees
  • Full dominion of funds, with lockbox
  • Quarterly field exams
  • *These are general guidelines as advance rates, ineligibles and caps may change when considering individual requests.

Solutions

Bridge Business Credit offers creative, nimble, and flexible loan structures for businesses with the potential for success that, unfortunately, cannot obtain or maintain traditional bank financing to assure continued operation and future success. Contact Bridge if you:

A business typically ends up in the asset recovery department of a bank when unable to meet its loan payments or fulfill its financial obligations.  This department’s role is to recover the bank’s assets through negotiation, legal processes, or asset sales.

At Bridge Business Credit, we understand the complexity of asset recovery and offer comprehensive solutions that aid the company in effectively navigating this challenging phase. Our goal is to provide stability, strategic support, and the financial resources needed to help the company succeed during and after the asset-recovery process.

Simply explained, business equity is the value of your assets after deducting your business’s liabilities. Equity can either be positive or negative. With positive equity, the company has enough assets to cover its liability. Negative equity happens when the company’s liabilities exceed its assets.  When companies grow and continue to lose money, they are often dealing with negative equity, which puts them in a difficult position of not having the ability to obtain or maintain conventional loans.

At Bridge Business Credit, we believe that equity should not be a barrier to success. Our commitment is to offer innovative financing solutions that help businesses in this predicament to overcome challenges, unlocking opportunities to thrive. Bridge Business Credit bridges the gap by offering asset-based lending until the business regains its bearings and can return to conventional financing.

For many businesses, growth signals success. It creates new opportunities, brings in more customers, and generates greater profits. However, expanding your business isn’t without risks. You should carefully consider the pros and cons of expansion before pursuing business growth.

Some of the common disadvantages of business expansions are:

  • Shortage of cash – you may need to borrow money to meet expansion costs, for example purchasing new premises or equipment.
  • Compromised quality – increasing your production output may lead to a decline in quality, which can lead to loss of customers or sales.
  • Loss of control – as your business grows, you may need to delegate management duties or divide the workloads between different locations.
  • Increased capital requirements – a larger business means a larger workforce, more facilities or equipment, and more investment.

Businesses in this situation greatly benefit from Bridge Business Credit.  Bridge offers working capital to support businesses that experience sharp revenue growth.  With Bridge, businesses can reach their full potential quickly and effectively. Our highly experienced underwriting team and in-house field examiners can assess the financial situation and put together a customized plan that will suit the unique needs of each business.

Balance sheets often provide insight into a company’s assets and its sources of capital. When businesses are struggling, a glance at the balance sheet will typically reveal some shared issues that are dragging them down. Some of the problems that tend to plague these companies on the balance sheet include:

  • Negative or deficit retained earnings
  • Negative equity
  • Negative net tangible assets
  • Low current ratio

Bridge Business Credit specializes in offering invaluable assistance to companies with a weak balance sheet.  We understand that a weak balance sheet can limit your access to traditional financing options, hindering growth and stability.

Our unique approach focuses on the value of your assets, allowing us to extend credit based on your accounts receivable, inventory, machinery, and equipment.  By leveraging these assets, we can provide the working capital necessary to fund operations, seize opportunities, and fuel growth even when traditional equity-based loans are out of reach. Our goal is to be the bridge that helps your company overcome financial challenges, regain strength, and build a solid foundation for future success. With Bridge Business Credit, a weak balance sheet doesn’t have to be an insurmountable obstacle.

The starting point and the first major hurdle that many new businesses face is securing sufficient funds to keep going. Business owners must have a clear idea of the capital they need to cover their operational expenses, cash needs, and if possible, set aside a fund for unexpected situations.  However, conventional financing may not be an available option to them. 

Bridge Business Credit can step in and be that bridge.  Bridge can offer funding to assist in continued growth of the business by being able to close and fund within 30 days of the application. This allows the business to focus on growth while building equity in hopes of transitioning to conventional loans as quickly as possible.

Every business strives for success.  However, sometimes businesses find themselves in difficult situations of delaying payments to vendors to allocate the capital towards other necessary purposes.  Stretched payments to vendors can impact the company’s cash flow and ability to operate.

Bridge Business Credit can be a valuable partner to companies facing stretched payments to vendors. We understand that managing cash flow challenges is essential to maintaining healthy vendor relationships and business operations. We work strategically to design tailored financing solutions that align with the specific needs of every client. 

A business can restructure in many ways and for numerous reasons. Some of the most common motives for restructuring may include:   

  • Deteriorating financial fundamentals,
  • Loss of competitive edge or experiencing too much competition in the industry
  • Poor earnings performance
  • Lackluster revenue from sales
  • Excessive debt  

Restructuring costs can add up quickly for things such as reducing or eliminating product or service lines, canceling contracts, eliminating divisions, writing off assets, closing facilities, and relocating employees.  A company may restructure as a means of preparing for a sale, buyout, merger, or change in overall goals.

Bridge Business Credit is an invaluable resource in this type of situation by funding quickly and with less restrictive covenants. Since the asset is the collateral, there is maximum liquidity and fewer rules. Line of credit grows with asset growth. This flexible solution effectively bridges the gap in your business transactions, accelerating your sales cycle.

Filing for Chapter 11 can have both positive and negative implications depending on the situation and context. On the plus side, Chapter 11 allows a business to reorganize and potentially emerge stronger and more profitable than before it failed.

On the downside, the process can be costly, time-consuming, and the business may have to give up some control to creditors and the court. Shareholders are likely to lose some or all the money they invested in the bankrupt company.

If a company does manage to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, existing shareholders may or may not benefit from the turnaround, as the old stock may get canceled during the bankruptcy process with new shares issued.

Bridge Business Credit can be a great resource to businesses that find themselves contemplating or are in Chapter 11 or Sub Chapter 5 bankruptcy.  Access to working capital is offered quickly and effectively to support liquidity needs. In addition, flexible borrowing terms and no early termination penalties benefit businesses in these situations so that they focus on their business.

Our quick funding timeline with zero prepayment penalties provide solutions for many industry segments, including, but not limited to:

Manufacturing

Service

Oil & Gas

Distribution

Transportation

Staffing

Automotive

Aerospace

Medical

And many others