LiftForward, one of the leading companies in alternative small business finance, announced it has secured credit facilities totaling up to $250 million from entities managed by Varadero Capital and from GLI Finance. Based in Manhattan, LiftForward provides businesses with asset backed and working capital loans. The company will use the funds to accelerate and expand the growth of its small business financing programs through its partnerships. As part of its participation in the credit facility, the Varadero entities received rights to acquire equity in LiftForward.

LiftForward has seen a surge in loan requests over the past 6 months. According to Jeffrey Rogers, CEO of LiftForward, “Banks continue to abandon the under $1 million loan product. When you combine this supply cutoff with the expanding demand for capital from small businesses, there is significant need for our product. This transaction allows us to further meet the demand we are receiving and welcome an award-winning hedge fund manager, Varadero, to our syndicate.”

Fernando Guerrero, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Varadero Capital, L.P., said, "LiftForward’s initiative will help small business owners all over the country grow their business in the face of a challenging debt market for small entities. We're proud to support these efforts.”

Geoff Miller, Chief Executive of GLI Finance, said: “Since we invested in LiftForward, its business proposition has become ever more relevant as US banks continue to withdraw from SME lending. I am delighted that we can provide further support to LiftForward and, in turn, expand our exposure to the US market.”

LiftForward operates a marketplace loan platform which provides loans to small businesses and high yielding debt products to investors. Investors on the platform range from asset managers to hedge funds. Small businesses are able to borrow up to $1 million per transaction for asset purchases or working capital.

Varadero Capital, L.P. is an alternative investment management firm that seeks to capitalize on opportunistic, credit-based investments across specialized credit markets.

GLI Finance is a specialist provider of finance to small and medium sized enterprises and is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. GLI Finance both invests in loans to SMEs and originates finance for SMEs through a variety of finance platforms. The platforms in which GLI Finance is invested vary by geography, industry, size of lending and by type of lending.