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 restaurant real estate agents
Client funded. Deal done. Everyone wins.
Acting for the restaurant owner? We get them funded so they can sign. Acting for the landlord or seller? Once the other side is funded, your deal closes. Either way, we pay you a referral fee when the loan funds. The loan comes from a bank or credit union, through the government-backed Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP). We don't lend.
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
Why it pays to send us your clients
Every side of the deal wins.
The deal can't close until the restaurant owner has the money to build out. We get them there, and everyone at the table comes out ahead.
You act for the restaurant owner
We tell them what they can borrow before they sign, so they negotiate with a real number. The loan is paid back over the lease term, so ten years, or five plus a five-year renewal, is what lenders want to see.
You act for the landlord or seller
Send us the other side. Once they are funded, they can sign and pay for the build-out, so your landlord gets a lease that holds and your seller gets a sale that closes.
We pay you a referral fee
When your client's loan funds, we pay you a referral fee, through your brokerage and disclosed to your client. And when one of our clients needs a space, we introduce them to you, with their permission.
A financing page with your name on it
Want a financing page for your listings, with your name on it? Ask us and we'll build one for you.
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 space. 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 agents.
Straight answers to what agents and leasing brokers ask first, starting with timing and the lease.
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.
When should my client talk to you, before or after the LOI?
Before, if you can. Lease term decides how long the loan can amortize, and knowing what the financing will support helps your client negotiate. A letter of intent can support a conditional approval, but lenders typically want a signed lease before funding.
Do you pay a referral fee?
Yes. When your client's loan funds, we pay you a referral fee. It is paid through your brokerage and disclosed to your client, so it stays clean under the rules you work by.
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.