2008 Restaurant Finance & Development Conference

The 2008 Restaurant Finance & Development Conference in Las Vegas was no surprise to us, as the rumors of the scarce resources available from traditional lending sources proved to be true. However, the most successful franchisors, restaurateurs and operators are chomping at the bit to take advantage of some great acquisition deals out there. There are tons of development opportunities where owners can obtain a restaurant in a location featuring strong demographics, affordable commercial Real Estate, and be able to negotiate favorable rates with construction companies. The Small Business Administration (SBA) and other long-term financing sources used in the past are not an option for most operators at this time. Even though ALL working capital/Merchant Cash Advance providers are under collection pressures and capital raises are harder than ever, we fill a major void in this economic environment. The keys to success in choosing the client are to have strong underwriting criteria, flexibility, and help cater to your individual clients’ needs.

At Global Swift Funding, we recently hired Dan Chaon as our Senior Vice President of Business Development. Dan’s 16 year experience as a restaurant operator and as a key contributor to Brinker International has provided significant insight to our underwriting team. We are focused on existing operators and tenured franchisees with multiple restaurants and years of successful restaurant experience. We can help these operators take advantage of this tumultuous environment and grow their business!

The main components we need to recognize are; we are in an evolving industry and each deal is going to be different. The days of being able to base an advance on a certain set of data parameters are a thing of the past. In addition, as we start to work with large groups and publicly held entities, there are no more “cookie cutter” deals.

The short term financing option we provide to the restaurateur has many benefits including not giving up an equity position and providing access to quick capital. As operators are in growth mode, we are here as a resource for them to provide an infusion of capital. We understand that we are not going to take the place of traditional lending sources; however, NOW is the time to for small business owners to look at alternative financing partners as we can help them grow their business quickly, effectively and affordably.

Steven Velasquez
Director, Merchant Services
619.482.7200
www.globalswiftfunding.com