We provide lender-ready capital raise packaging and debt or equity placement support for business owners and buyers looking to secure serious term sheets and close funding on a defined timeline.
For business owners and acquirers pursuing private debt or equity, submit your deal for review. We revert within one working day with next steps and either a quote for our services.
Sellers ask for “success fee only” M&A advisory every day. The pitch is framed as alignment. In practice it is usually cost shifting. A sell-side process takes weeks of preparation, controlled outreach, and hands-on negotiation support. Most transactions run around 90 days to a credible LOI and a clean diligence path. The work begins before any buyer is serious, and it consumes real resources and real reputation.
A serious adviser has a queue of mandates where clients pay, respond quickly, and make decisions. Those mandates get staffed first. A seller who refuses a retainer is signaling risk before the process even starts: slow turnaround, shifting expectations, and a higher chance the mandate never reaches a close. It is not personal. It is resource allocation.
A retainer is payment for defined scope under an engagement letter. It is not a charge for introductions. A proper engagement is built around work product and process control. For a high-level view of our advisory coverage, see What We Do and Pricing.
Some sellers are simply inexperienced. Others are testing whether they can extract free work. Either way, the pretexts are usually the same. We keep the tone professional, but we do not pretend these arguments are strong.
The difference between a stalled mandate and a closeable process is rarely “luck.” It is usually commitment, speed, and preparation. Here are two common patterns we see. Names and details are anonymized, but the behavior is real.
Seller A wanted a top-of-market valuation and insisted the business would “sell itself.” They refused a retainer and asked for success-fee-only. The conversation quickly turned into pretexts.
The mandate never became real. They circled the market for months, took calls with multiple advisers, and collected opinions. Eventually they learned the hard way that serious teams do not build materials, run outreach, and manage negotiations for free. When they came back later, they were more flexible on economics and more realistic on valuation.
Seller B did not love paying a retainer either. They just understood what it bought them: priority, accountability, and a professional process. They signed an engagement with clear scope and moved quickly.
Result: a tighter narrative, fewer wasted buyer conversations, and a credible LOI path. Even when diligence got uncomfortable, the process stayed controlled because the seller treated the sale like a project, not a wish.
Sellers who refuse retainers often spend months circling the market. They jump between advisers, ask for free work, and then stall when it is time to commit. The lesson arrives the same way almost every time. No one serious will run a serious sell-side process for free. If you want premium outcomes, you start by acting like a premium mandate.
You should expect a signed engagement letter with scope, deliverables, exclusions, a timeline, and payment terms. You should also expect reality checks. Advisory is professional execution, not wish fulfillment. The market will decide price, terms, and who shows up at the table. Our job is to run the process properly.
If you have clean financials, realistic expectations, and serious intent to transact, submit your mandate and we will revert with a scoped quote.
Apply For A QuoteDisclaimer: This page is for general information only and does not constitute advice, an offer, or a solicitation. Financely acts as advisor and arranger through regulated partners and is not a bank or lender. Any transaction is subject to diligence, KYC, AML, sanctions screening, legal review, and approvals by relevant stakeholders.
Financely advises growth-focused businesses on accessing capital by introducing their opportunities to professional investors. Financely is not a securities broker or dealer. Where appropriate, engagements are coordinated with regulated broker-dealers, investment banks, legal counsel, and other specialists.
Financely does not solicit, offer, or accept orders to buy or sell securities and makes no assurance regarding capital-raising outcomes.
Services are strictly business-to-business. Financely does not provide personal finance, consumer credit, or retail advisory services.
Advisory services are reserved for post-revenue companies that recognize the time and resources required for professional underwriting.
All mandates start with an RFQ. We review submissions, issue a brief Go/No-Go memo, and where bankable, release a Term Sheet that leads to funding. We arrange capital across Senior Secured, Unitranche, Second Lien/Mezzanine, Preferred Equity, and Gap Solutions. We do not process deals by email or chat.
Letters of Credit, Standby LCs, Confirmations, Receivables Finance, and Inventory Lines with control.
Funding arranged for trade flows with instruments sized to your cycle and aligned to delivery and settlement.
Move forward to secure working capital and keep goods moving. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting for funding.
Limited or non-recourse structures for energy and infrastructure with lender-ready materials.
Funding solutions aligned to project cash flows with credible covenants and conditions to reach notice to proceed.
Advance the file to termable status. Submit the RFQ so we can underwrite and secure funding.
Debt and Preferred solutions anchored on cash flow, Quality of Earnings, and clear closing mechanics.
Funding across senior, unitranche, and preferred to match stable cash flows and acquisition timelines.
Get financed on workable terms for closing. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting.
Acquisition, development, bridge, and refinance with lender-ready packs and third-party reports managed.
Funding calibrated to DSCR, leverage, and tenancy with terms designed to close.
Move to a financeable package. Submit the RFQ to initiate underwriting for funding.
KYC and Source of Funds required. Engagements are best-efforts and subject to underwriting. Preference for operating companies with meaningful revenue. See our FAQ and Procedure.
Financely Inc. (“Financely”) provides corporate-finance advice and is wholly owned by Aurora Bay Trust, a trust formed under Bahamian law, together with its authorized affiliates. Depending on deal structure, jurisdiction, and local rules, engagements may be carried out through Financely Group LLC, a non-deposit-taking, non-banking financial company; Ashford Capital Advisory LLC; or another related entity.
Financely and its affiliates are not registered as securities broker-dealers and do not execute securities transactions or hold client funds or securities. When a mandate involves the purchase or sale of securities and a registered intermediary is required, any orders are introduced to and executed by one or more independent U.S. broker-dealers registered with the SEC and FINRA. Those broker-dealers are solely responsible for trade execution, custody, and related regulatory obligations. Nothing in this material constitutes an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to engage in any specific transaction. Before engaging Financely Group LLC, Ashford Capital Advisory LLC, or any affiliate, you are responsible for confirming that such engagement complies with your own legal, regulatory, tax, and other requirements. In the United States, certain advisory activities may be conducted in reliance on exemptions available under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, including the “foreign private adviser” exemption where applicable. Our services and regulatory status may vary by jurisdiction and by transaction type.
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