Lenders to Professional Services Firm without PG

November 04, 2025

by a searcher from University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School in New York, New York, United States

I'm looking for a lender to place ~$4MM of debt on a professional services firm with ~$1.4-1.5MM of EBITDA (<3x leverage). The business has stable financials for 2023/24/TTM, strong retention and unit economics, and incentives are aligned - the seller is staying onboard and rolling 20% alongside new ownership, putting a substantial seller note in place, and an additional earnout for the first 2 years of performance. I am looking to do so without a PG for the buyer or seller and can raise $2-3MM of equity behind the debt. Does anyone know of lenders who meet this profile?

Reply by a lender
in Falmouth, MA, USA

Thanks for the tag, ^redacted‌. This deal doesn't work. You're asking a non-SBA lender to put up nearly 3x on a professional services firm with no personal guarantee. That lender doesn't exist. Conventional banks at this size lend 30-40% of cost, putting senior leverage around 1.5-2x EBITDA. The business is people. There are no hard assets to collateralize. The seller roll and earnout are positive for alignment but they're subordinated. They don't protect downside for the senior lender. I'd second ^redacted‌’s comment on maximum senior leverage. Even getting there requires a proven track record and a strong PFS.

Reply by a lender
from University of California, Los Angeles in Tampa, FL, USA

Thanks for the tag, @redacted‌. We wouldn’t be able to help here. Given the size of the business, the lenders we’ve spoken to would size closer to 2x, but would also require a PG.

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