Funded
Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant, funded with TD. We built the plan, the numbers and every document, and saw it through to funding.
For franchisors
Your franchisees, Funded. More units open.
Until a franchisee is funded, the location waits. Their loan comes from a bank or credit union, through the government-backed Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP). We don't lend. We build the application and take it to the right lender, so your operators and your team don't have to.
Start with one franchisee.If the file goes the way it should, send us the next one.
- 100%of submitted files funded
- $10M+funded to date
- 100hrsof your client's time saved per file
- Canada-widebanks and credit unions
Banks and credit unions we work with
- RBC
- TD
- BMO
- Scotiabank
- CIBC
- National Bank of Canada
- Desjardins
- Meridian
- BDC
Why franchisee financing is your business too
The unit opens when the loan does.
You picked the operator and approved the site. The lender still has to approve the loan. We make sure what they see is complete.
The opening waits on the loan
Until your franchisee is funded, the build waits, the opening date moves, and the first royalty moves with it. Getting operators funded is part of getting locations open.
Help selling franchises
A prospect's first question is how they'll pay for it. Point them to us and the answer is a plan, not a shrug.
Every operator is a different file
Your system is the same in every location. The operator is not. Credit, equity, net worth and lease term differ from one franchisee to the next, and lenders weigh them differently, so the lender match matters as much as the file.
A credit file is its own job
A written plan, a formula-linked model, a capex schedule built from real quotes and your franchise agreement, the lender match, the submission and the disbursement. We do that job the same way for every franchisee you send, so your development team does not have to.
How a referral works
Point us at one franchisee.
Send one. Judge us on the file.
- What we will not do
- Promise approval. That is the lender's call. Quote a timeline before we see the file. Go around you to your client.
- What you can count on
- A straight answer on the first call. A complete file for every franchisee we take on. We don't contact your franchisee until you say so.
You point us at a franchisee
Their name and a line about the location. We do not reach out to them until you give us the go-ahead.
We talk to them first
On the first call we tell them if the deal can work and which lender fits. If it can't, we say so then, so nobody wastes time.
They engage us directly
Your franchisee hires us and pays our fees. Our shared success compensation is only paid when they are funded. Where the lender allows it, both can come out of the loan.
We build the file and see it through
We write the plan, build the budget from real quotes and the franchise agreement, pick the lender and submit. After approval we manage the payouts until the money is in their account.
Brands we've worked with
- Recipe Unlimited
- Happy Belly Food Group
- Rosie's Burgers
- Heal Wellness
- The Pickle Barrel
- Texas Roadhouse
- Sunnyside Grill
- Hibachi Teppanyaki
- Florette
- Marigolds & Onions
- SweetChops
- OMG Real Estate
- Joey Cutlets
Funded
Files we took all the way through.
Every application we've submitted has been funded. Over $10 million so far, and about 100 hours saved for each client.
Funded
Buying an existing restaurant
An asset purchase rather than a build, which means an appraisal, an inherited lease, and two years of the seller's statements and returns. Financed through a credit union.
Funded
Independent restaurant
Every document, the plan and the forecast, taken to Meridian and through three rounds of questions to approval.
Funded
Bar build
A ground-up bar, financed on projections rather than history, because there was no trading history for the location to lean on.
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On Instagram
Follow the funding.
What each franchisee gets
One package. About 100 hours of your client's time back.
- Written business plan, built for the bank rather than for a pitch
- Three-year financial forecast, with every assumption visible
- Executive summary in the language lenders use
- Market and competitor research for the restaurant's trade area
- A clear breakdown of where the money goes
- A check of which costs the program covers
- All your documents, gathered and followed up
- Lender match, and the submission itself
- We deal with the bank directly through to funding
- Changes until the bank has what it needs
Who you deal with
I speak restaurant. I speak bank.
Hi, I'm Adam Gilbert. I've spent my career in the restaurant business, on the finance and marketing side. That includes senior marketing and finance roles at one of Canada's best known restaurant groups, through its sale to the country's largest full-service operator.
I run Sweet Sauce Hospitality Partners, and I am building my own restaurant concepts, so I am not advising from the sidelines. I know what a build really costs, and what the bank will ask before it asks.
A good business plan tells your story, then backs it up with numbers. It has to make the bank believe in your restaurant, and then prove it.
Let's get your operators funded.
Questions
Questions from franchisors.
Straight answers to what franchisors ask first, starting with who the client is and how an introduction works.
Refer a franchiseeDo you lend the money?
No. The loan comes from a bank or credit union, through the Canada Small Business Financing Program, a Government of Canada program. The government guarantees a large share of the loan for the lender. We are a brokerage: we build the application, take it to the right lender and see it through to funding.
How much can my client borrow?
Most restaurant owners we work with qualify for between $200,000 and $500,000. The program limit is $500,000 for leasehold improvements, equipment and intangibles such as franchise fees, including up to $150,000 of working capital. If they are buying the building too, the limit is higher.
Who is the client, us or the franchisee?
Your franchisee. They engage us directly, the loan is theirs, and so are our fees: a project launch investment to start and shared success compensation that is only paid when they are funded. What they share with us about their finances is kept confidential, as it would be with any client.
Will you contact our franchisees without asking us?
No. When you tell us about a franchisee, we do not reach out until you give us the go-ahead. The introduction is yours to make.
What happens if a franchisee is not a fit?
We tell them on the first call rather than taking their time or yours. Some things stop a file through this program, like personal taxes that have not been filed, and some need fixing first, like a lease too short to carry the loan. We would rather find them early than in front of the lender. Where a file can go ahead, the credit decision still belongs to the lender. Nobody can promise approval, and we do not.
We already have a lender our franchisees use. Does that change anything?
No. We work with the lender your franchisee already has, or the one your system works with, or match the file to a lender that lends to restaurants and fits that operator. Whichever it is, the file arrives complete. We work with the banks, not around them.
Can the loan cover the franchise fee?
Often, yes. The program covers franchise fees, along with the build and the equipment. The figure comes from the franchise agreement, and lenders want the executed agreement and, usually, a letter from you confirming the franchisee's rights to the location.
Where do you work?
Across Canada. The CSBFP is a federal program and we work remotely, so where you are does not matter. We are based in Toronto and work with owners in the Greater Toronto Area, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City. Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City are handled in French or English.