NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- BizCapital, the small business lending arm of Advantage Capital Partners, has hired Richard Pearce to serve as vice president of business development in the New Orleans office.
"We're ramping up our efforts and Richard will play a key role in building on our momentum," said Louis T. Dubuque, principal at Advantage. "Richard brings a considerable amount of experience to BizCapital and we're pleased to have him on board."
In his new role, Pearce is responsible for generating New Markets-qualified SBA and USDA loans in Louisiana. Before joining BizCapital, Pearce served as vice president and chief credit officer at Wilshire Louisiana BIDCO, where he provided SBA lending expertise to qualify as a SBA lender. In addition, Pearce handled business development investments statewide and was in charge of the production of SBA loans within Louisiana. Prior to that, Pearce served as vice president/manager/loan trader and pool assembler for SAMCO Capital Markets. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Texas Tech University and is a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the ABA Graduate Commercial Lending School. Mr. Pearce served in the U.S. Army from March 1970 to November 1971.
"Richard has extensive knowledge in the area of SBA lending and loan pool assemblage," Dubuque added. "I'm confident that he is a great addition to our team."
In 2005, Advantage Capital established a Small Business Finance Fund of $32 million for companies and entrepreneurs in low-income communities. Administered by BizCapital, the fund offers less stringent underwriting criteria and a faster response to loan applications than traditional lenders.
To qualify for investment from the fund, a company must fit the SBA definition of a small business for its particular industry and be located within a low-income census tract. In addition, at least 40 percent of the services performed by the company's employees must be performed in low-income census tracts, at least 40 percent of the company's tangible property is utilized in low-income census tracts, and at least 50 percent of the company's gross income is derived from the active conduct of the business within low-income census tracts. The company must have no plans to change its operations or characteristics of the business such that it would fail to meet any of the qualifying criteria. Certain types of businesses are excluded, such as financial institutions, country clubs, racetracks or other gambling facilities, golf courses and farms.
BizCapital is recognized as a leading government-guaranteed lender, helping small-to-mid-sized businesses grow and prosper, while fostering stronger economic growth in local communities. With offices in New Orleans, Jackson and St. Louis, BizCapital invests across many types of businesses and offers loans from $250,000 to $5 million in the form of SBA, USDA, mezzanine, and well-secured real estate loans.
About BizCapital and Advantage Capital Partners
BizCapital (www.biz-capital.com) is a non-depository financial institution offering competitive loans to small and medium-sized companies. BizCapital's parent firm is Advantage Capital Partners (www.advantagecap.com), a venture capital and private equity firm focused on investing in promising companies located in areas underserved by traditional venture capital. With offices and partners in New Orleans, St. Louis and several other cities, Advantage Capital has raised more than $750 million in institutional venture capital since 1992.