Funding solutions
10 ways we place capital.
Matched to where the business actually stands, not to what is easiest to sell. Every file goes only to lenders and funders with demonstrated appetite for it, the true cost of each option is read to you before you sign, and compensation is disclosed first.
01 Merchant cash advance
Revenue based working capital placed through a vetted funder network. A merchant cash advance is the purchase of a portion of future receivables, remitted daily or weekly, and it is the fastest capital in the market. It is also the most expensive when measured properly, which is why we read the true annualized cost to you before you sign and say plainly when a term facility is the better answer.
Best fit: speed is the point, revenue is steady, and there is no collateral to lend against yet. What we need: 4 to 6 months of business bank statements and the intake form.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- 6 months in business
- $20,000 or more in monthly deposits
- 500 or better personal credit
- A business bank account in the entity name
- US based operating business
Run any factor rate quote through the factor rate converter before you sign. A 1.35 on a 6 month remittance is not a 35% cost.
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
02 Term loans
Monthly payment facilities for equipment, expansion, acquisition, and refinance. A term loan amortizes on a schedule the business can plan around, which is the clean structure most operating companies should be carrying instead of daily remittances. Sizing follows documented cash flow and, where it exists, the asset being financed.
Best fit: 2 or more years in business, documented cash flow, a defined use of funds. What we need: bank statements, recent financial statements, and a debt schedule.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- 2 years in business
- $250,000 or more in annual revenue
- 600 or better personal credit
- Positive debt service coverage on documented cash flow
- A defined use of funds
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
03 Lines of credit
Revolving working capital that sits ready and costs you only when drawn. A line is the right tool for cash cycles that swing with the season or with receivables: draw to cover the gap, repay when the customer pays, draw again.
Best fit: seasonal businesses and companies that invoice on terms. What we need: bank statements, financial statements, and a receivables aging.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- 12 months in business
- $10,000 or more in monthly revenue
- 625 or better personal credit
- Corporation or LLC in good standing
- No open bankruptcy
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
04 Position buyout
For merchants carrying 3 or more advance positions: a collateral backed facility that pays every position in full at closing and replaces the daily debits with 1 monthly payment. It is not a reverse consolidation, and the difference is the entire point. The full position buyout page covers the structure, the process, and the documents.
Best fit: 3 or more daily or weekly positions, and collateral in the business. What we need: every advance contract with a current balance, 6 months of bank statements, and collateral schedules.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- 3 or more open advance positions
- Collateral in the business: equipment, receivables or real estate
- 12 months in business
- Every advance contract with a current balance
- Positions current or curable at closing
A buyout retires every position in full at closing. It is not a reverse consolidation, and the difference is set out on the position buyout page.
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
05 Bridge loans
Short term capital against a defined exit: a sale, a refinance, or a receivable event. A bridge is sized to the exit, priced to the exit, and documented against the exit, which is why the first question is always what pays it back and when.
Best fit: a documented event on a known date. What we need: the exit evidence (a contract, a letter of intent, a refinance commitment) and bank statements.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- A documented exit on a known date
- The contract, letter of intent or refinance commitment behind it
- Collateral or a receivable that survives to the exit
- Clear title on any asset pledged
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
06 Factoring
Receivables purchase facilities that convert outstanding invoices into working cash without adding term debt. The facility advances against invoices to creditworthy customers and settles when they pay, so capacity grows with sales rather than with the owner's personal balance sheet.
Best fit: business to business companies invoicing on 30 to 90 day terms. What we need: a receivables aging, a customer list, and sample invoices.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- Business to business or business to government invoicing
- Creditworthy commercial customers
- Invoices free of liens and prior assignment
- No material customer concentration you cannot explain
- A receivables aging you can produce
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
07 Mezzanine financing
Subordinated capital between senior debt and equity for acquisitions, buyouts, and growth, arranged when senior alone will not carry the plan. Mezzanine fills the gap without giving up control, and it is structured alongside the senior lender so the 2 layers work together in the same closing.
Best fit: a transaction with senior financing in place or in process and a documented gap. What we need: 3 years of financial statements, a model, and the transaction documents.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- $3,000,000 or more in adjusted EBITDA
- Senior financing in place or in process
- A documented gap between senior capacity and the transaction
- 3 years of financial statements and a model
- Management depth beyond the owner
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
08 Private credit facilities
Direct lender facilities beyond bank appetite, from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000, structured across senior, unitranche, and subordinated layers. The private credit page sets out the 4 tiers of the market, what each layer costs, and what a term sheet contains. The private credit page sets out the 4 tiers of the market, what each layer costs, and what a term sheet contains. Private credit is where a bank's no stops being the end of the conversation: refinancing, growth, acquisition, and recapitalization, run as a competing process with guarantee containment negotiated into the facility.
Best fit: companies at $5,000,000 or more in gross revenue with a capital need the bank will not meet. What we need: 3 years of financial statements, a model, and the capitalization table.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- $5,000,000 or more in gross revenue
- $2,000,000 or more in adjusted EBITDA for most direct lenders
- 3 years of financial statements and interim statements
- A capitalization table and a debt schedule
- The ability to carry covenants and quarterly reporting
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
09 Equity and institutional capital
Preparation and introductions for raises with private equity, venture, and family office capital, run as a managed process rather than a cold pitch. The work is in the materials and the target list: the right investors, approached with a file that answers their questions before they ask them.
Best fit: a growth plan that debt should not fund alone. What we need: a deck, a model, and the capitalization table.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- A growth plan debt should not fund alone
- A deck, a model and a capitalization table
- Clean corporate records and a defensible valuation basis
- Ownership available for investor meetings
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
10 Business sale brokerage
Sell side representation for owners exiting: valuation, materials, a competitive buyer field, and negotiation through close. The business sale page covers the process, what sets the price, and what buyers look for. For owners at $10,000,000 or more in gross revenue, the fixed fee Exit Engagement is how the process is delivered.
Best fit: a durable business that runs without the seller. What we need: 3 years of financial statements and tax returns, and an adjusted earnings schedule.
Typical market parameters
What funders look for at a minimum
- 3 years of financial statements and tax returns
- An adjusted earnings schedule
- A business that runs without the seller
- Transferable customer relationships and contracts
- An owner intending to exit within roughly 12 months
For owners at $10,000,000 or more in gross revenue, the fixed fee Exit Engagement is how the process is delivered.
Ranges describe what the market commonly does with this structure. They are not an offer, a quote, or a promise of terms. Your file, your state and the counterparty set the actual numbers.
Every facility is arranged through third party lenders and funders and is subject to their underwriting and approval. Nothing on this page is an offer, and no outcome is guaranteed. Citadel Ridge does not lend its own money.
Side by side
10 facilities on 5 lines.
What each structure gives you, how it takes the money back, what secures it, what the read looks for first, and the situation it fits. Structures, not offers. The market ranges under each facility above describe what counterparties commonly do; the actual rate, amount and timeline on your file are set by the counterparty after underwriting, never by this table.
| Facility | Structure | Repayment shape | Security and guarantee | What the read looks for first | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant cash advance | Purchase of future receipts at a factor rate | Daily or weekly debits until the payback is collected | Personal guaranty of performance; UCC filing common | Deposits, existing debits, returned items | Speed is the point and the term is short enough that the cost stays contained |
| Term loan | A fixed principal amortized over a set term | 1 monthly payment | Equipment, receivables or a blanket lien; personal guaranty usual | Debt service coverage, statements, time in business | Equipment, expansion, acquisition or refinance with a clear use of funds |
| Line of credit | A revolving limit drawn and repaid as needed | Interest on the drawn balance, principal on your schedule | Receivables and inventory, or unsecured at smaller limits | Deposit stability, receivable quality, low balances | Working capital that swings with the season or the job cycle |
| Position buyout | A collateral backed facility that retires every position in full at closing | Daily debits stop at funding; 1 monthly payment remains | Equipment, receivables, real estate or a blanket lien | The position schedule, payoff letters, collateral coverage | 3 or more positions and the debit load is deciding what the business can do |
| Bridge loan | Short term capital sized to a defined exit | Interest only, principal at the exit event | The asset or receivable behind the exit | The exit itself: contract, sale, refinance commitment | A sale, a refinance or a receivable event is dated and documented |
| Factoring | Sale of invoices at an advance rate, balance on collection | Collected from your customers; fee per invoice per period | The receivables themselves; recourse or non recourse | Customer credit quality, invoice aging, concentration | Slow paying commercial customers and no appetite for term debt |
| Mezzanine financing | Subordinated debt between senior and equity, often with warrants | Interest current or accrued, principal at maturity | Subordinated lien; intercreditor with the senior lender | Enterprise value, cash flow after senior service, the plan | Acquisition, buyout or growth that senior debt alone will not carry |
| Private credit facility | Direct lender term or unitranche facility beyond bank appetite | Monthly or quarterly service with covenants and reporting | All assets; guaranty scope negotiated | Adjusted earnings quality, leverage, covenant headroom | Institutional scale and a file that can carry covenants and reporting |
| Equity and institutional capital | Ownership sold to investors under a managed process | No repayment; return through growth and exit | None; governance rights instead | Growth, margins, management depth, the use of proceeds | The plan needs capital that debt cannot service |
| Business sale | Sale of the company to a strategic or financial buyer | Proceeds at closing; earnout or seller note if negotiated | Seller protections on any note or earnout | Earnings quality, transferability, concentration, the data room | The owner intends to exit within roughly 12 months |
General descriptions of common structures. Every facility is arranged through third party lenders and funders and is subject to their underwriting, documentation and approval; the actual agreement governs. Not an offer, and not a ranking. Before you compare offers on any of these lines, run the stack calculator on what you already carry.
By state
What a funder owes you where you operate.
A growing number of states require a written disclosure of cost and terms before you sign, and several regulate the brokers involved. The 6 states with the most developed rules, each with the local market read.
All 16 states with a lawStart with the file
A straight read within 2 business days.
Send the basics through the intake form: what the file supports, what is missing, and the next step if there is one. If we are not the right desk for it, we say so.