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 hospitality lawyers
Your client, Funded. On a lease that holds.
You see the lease and the incorporation before anyone else does. Your client's 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 financing file and take it to the right lender.
Start with one client.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
Where the lease meets the loan
The loan runs on the lease.
Lenders read the lease closely. The terms you negotiate decide how the loan can be structured.
Term decides amortization
The loan is paid down over the term of the lease, so a short term means a short amortization and a harder file. Ten years, or five plus a five-year renewal, is the shape lenders want.
Demolition clauses
On an asset purchase, a demolition clause can undercut the security the lender is relying on. A lawyer's review of the lease assignment is part of every purchase file we build.
Letter of intent now, lease later
A letter of intent can support a conditional approval, but lenders typically want a signed lease before funding.
We are not your client's lawyer
We build the financing file and deal with the bank; legal advice stays with you. When our own clients need a hospitality lawyer, we can introduce them, with their permission.
How a referral works
Point us at one client.
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 client we take on. We don't contact your client until you say so.
You point us at a client
Their name and a line about the deal. 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 client 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, 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 client 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 clients funded.
Questions
Questions from lawyers.
Straight answers to what lawyers ask first, starting with lease terms and where our work stops.
Refer a clientDo 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.
Will you review my client's lease?
We check the term against the amortization and flag the clauses a lender will ask about, like a demolition clause on a purchase. We do not give legal advice. The review that counts is yours.
What lease terms do lenders look for?
Enough term to carry the loan, because it amortizes over the lease. Ten years, or five plus a five-year renewal, is the shape lenders want, and under five years is a problem to raise early. On a purchase, the buyer inherits the lease, so the remaining term has to be long enough, and the lease should be checked for a demolition clause, which can undercut the lender's security.
My client is buying an existing restaurant. What changes?
They need an appraisal that supports the price, and two years of the seller's statements and tax returns. They also take over the lease, so the term left on it has to carry the loan, and it should be checked for a demolition clause.
Who is the client, me or the operator?
The operator you introduce. 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 my client without asking me?
No. When you tell us about someone, we do not reach out until you give us the go-ahead. The introduction is yours to make.
What happens if my client 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.
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.