Replace the loan you already have.
A facility coming due, a rate that belonged to a different year, a covenant you have outgrown. Refinancing is its own deal. The incumbent lender is one bid, and it should not be the only one.
Renewal is what happens when nobody runs a process.
The bank that holds the paper will offer to extend it. Sometimes that is the right outcome. You cannot know until the same credit has been shown to other banks, to SBA lenders if the loan can move, and to private credit if it should.
Who refinances a company this size.
An SBA refinance has its own rules — seasoning, use of proceeds, who can hold it. It is a path inside this deal, used when those rules are met.
A new term loan or line to take out the one you have.
Refinance into or out of 7(a) or 504 when the program allows it.
When the bank renewal comes with covenants the company should not sign.
Kept in the process, so their renewal has to beat the market.
Who a refinance is for.
A facility is coming due, the rate belongs to a different year, or a covenant no longer fits the company. The debt already exists. Refinancing replaces it. The incumbent lender will usually offer to extend what they hold. That offer is a bid. It should not be the only one.
This page is for debt the company already owes. New working capital the company does not have yet is working capital. Debt raised so one owner can buy another is a partner buyout.
Who refinances a company this size.
Another bank can take out a term loan or a line. The comparison is rate, amortization, covenants, and whether they will do the whole facility or only the piece that looks easy. The incumbent stays in the process so their renewal has to beat that market.
An SBA lender can refinance into or out of 7(a) or 504 when the program allows it. The SBA lists refinancing current business debt as a 7(a) use, and it points 504 refinance questions to the conditions in 13 CFR 120.882. Those conditions include what counts as qualified debt. Do not assume an SBA loan can move on the day you decide it should. The lender reads the seasoning and the use of proceeds. Start from 7(a) loans and 504 loans.
Private credit is the lender that will look when a bank renewal arrives with covenants the company should not sign, or when the credit has grown past a bank box. It is still someone else's balance sheet. The mandate is to put the renewal next to the alternatives before you extend.
Documents a lender usually asks for.
A refinance is underwritten like a new loan, plus the paper you already signed. Lenders commonly ask for:
- The current loan documents, the balance, the rate, the maturity, and any prepayment terms
- Covenant compliance, or a clear account of where the company is outside a covenant
- Three years of financial statements and tax returns, plus a year-to-date statement
- A debt schedule of everything else the company owes
- What the new facility has to cover, and what it does not
- The incumbent's renewal offer, so it can be set beside the other bids
How the financing is run.
The refinance is the assignment. The steps are the same four used on every mandate. Engagement: a letter is signed, the books are reviewed, and the case a lender will back is built. Market: the materials are prepared and the lenders who actually finance this use of proceeds are mapped. Competition: they see the deal at the same time, so the house bank or the vendor's lender has to beat the field. Close: the offers are compared, the terms are negotiated, and the one you accept is taken to signing.
No duration is promised here, and no rate. A lender's credit process sets the clock. What the mandate changes is who is asked, and whether the first term sheet is the only one.
What Siddwell is and isn't.
Siddwell is an investment bank hired to advise on the financing and to run a competition among lenders. Siddwell is not a lender, not a licensed loan broker, and not a business broker. The lender makes the credit decision. If you would rather meet SBA lenders on your own, the SBA's Lender Match tool introduces participating lenders, and you apply with the lender, not with the SBA.
Can you refinance an SBA loan?
Often, once the loan has seasoned and the use of proceeds still qualifies. SBA refinance is a lender path on this page, not a different service.
What if my current bank is already offering a renewal?
Bring it. A renewal you can compare is worth more than a renewal you have to accept. We put it next to the rest of the market.
Is refinancing to buy a partner out this page?
No. Debt raised so one owner can buy another is a partner buyout. This page is for replacing debt the company already owes.
Can every SBA loan be refinanced?
No. The SBA allows refinancing in defined cases, and 504 refinance has conditions in 13 CFR 120.882. The lender decides whether this loan can move.
Should I wait until the maturity date?
Bring the renewal when you have it. A renewal you can compare is worth more than a renewal you have to accept because the maturity is next month.
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