BFS is a technology driven short term lending platform that has been running since 2001. It’s the parent company to the UK’s Boost Capital, which offers a suite of small business loan products. BFS provides both term loans and merchant cash advances to a broad range of businesses, via a balance sheet lending model.
BFS first began working with business funding facilitator Entrust in 2009. The relationship presumably centred upon driving deal flow to the BFS platform. BFS appears to have decided that the value of owning the entirety of Entrust’s origination capacity is well worth the cost of acquiring the company. We do not yet have any hard numbers as to the size of the deal.
Marc Glazer, Co-Founder and CEO of BFS – and former AltFi News contributor, commented:
“We are very excited to welcome Entrust into the BFS family. The two companies share a philosophy of empowering small business growth through timely and flexible financing. Entrust is a natural extension for our brand.”
BFS recently crossed the $1 billion mark in cumulative lending. The company’s lending activities cover all 50 US states, Canada and the UK (in the form of Boost), and over 400 different industries. The company is now looking power through its next billion by ramping up origination volumes, and it’s fair to wonder if more M&A activity, or perhaps a few strategic partnerships, are in the pipeline.
Ilya Fridman, CEO of Entrust, said of the acquisition:
“We are proud to be part of the BFS team. BFS is an industry pioneer and has been a great partner for us these last six years. We look forward to continuing our growth under their stewardship.”
