Many thanks, Mike. Valid points. What I explain is that we are a highly experienced Executive team to manage and direct the company, plus the business meets debt service between 1.8 and 2, and the business has scalability. Thats our skin in the game.
Businesses we go for vary between £500k and £18m.

If that’s the case, I’d suggest asking each bank how much investor equity they’d ask for to be comfortable. There will always be a number if they otherwise understand the business model and like the deal. At that point, the required equity injection just becomes another point of negotiation/comparison between the different banks. It could be that you prefer one that requires more equity but that has other terms you prefer (lower interest, longer amortization period, etc.) or you might choose the opposite. If you’re lucky, you’ll find an aggressive bank that actually out-competes all the other offers on almost all the material points. If you’re not lucky, none of the banks will fund the deal in a way that works for both you and your investors. My experience is that most deals don’t work for at least one of the parties and what sets apart a great searcher from the good ones is the ability to waste very little time “getting to ‘no’”. Best of luck!