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.
If you are searching for “trade finance advisory with no upfront fee,” you are chasing a category that does not exist in serious markets. Trade finance advisory is paid work because it requires underwriting-grade packaging, senior time, and third-party coordination. No credible team can run complex facilities on “we will see if this closes.”
Even if an advisory firm wanted to work with zero retainer, it fails for practical reasons that have nothing to do with attitude.
A retainer is not a toll for “introductions.” It is consideration under an enforceable engagement letter with a defined scope and deliverables. Trade finance is process-heavy, and a lender-ready file does not appear by itself.
If your company already qualifies for trade facilities, you do not need advisors to “unlock” access. A strong borrower with clean financials, consistent trade flow, verified counterparties, and a tight controls package can pursue facilities directly with their relationship bank. Advisory is useful when the transaction is complex, the control stack needs to be tightened, you need packaging for credit review, or you are expanding beyond existing limits.
Retainers are also a practical filter. Trade finance is a working-capital business where timing, liquidity, and operational discipline matter. A sponsor that refuses basic engagement terms often struggles with the same requirements that lenders care about: reserves, performance obligations, collateral controls, and fast turnaround on diligence. If you cannot invest in the process, you are usually not ready for the facility size you are asking for.
You should expect a clear scope, clear deliverables, clear exclusions, and a professional cadence. You should also expect direct feedback. Sometimes the feedback is “this is not fundable as proposed.” That is not a failure of the retainer. That is the market doing its job.
Also be wary of anyone claiming they can guarantee outcomes on demand. If a party truly controls the capital and can close without conditions, they can earn their economics at closing. Serious counterparties still underwrite, still run KYC and AML, and still require documents and controls that stand up under scrutiny.
If you want to review standard fee options before engaging, see our pricing.
It covers the work required to make your transaction lender-ready: structuring, packaging, diligence preparation, and process management through term sheet and closing steps. It is not a “paywall” for access. It is payment for defined work product under a signed engagement.
Not for serious trade finance mandates. The work starts before any facility is approved, and advisers do not fund operating costs for free. There is also a queue of transactions where clients pay properly, and those mandates get staffed first.
Look for a signed engagement letter with a defined scope, deliverables, exclusions, timeline, and payment terms. The scope should describe what is produced and what is not included, plus how third-party costs are handled.
A retainer means the advisory process is staffed and executed. Placement depends on credit appetite, documents, controls, and approvals by relevant stakeholders. The right expectation is professional execution and honest feedback, not special treatment.
Clean contracts, verifiable counterparties, repeatable trade flow, realistic margins, strong controls, and a clear repayment and security package. If those basics are weak, lenders tend to pass no matter how good the pitch sounds.
If you already have a relationship bank that understands your business, and your file is clean and consistent, go direct. Advisory adds the most value when the structure is complex, controls need tightening, or you need packaging that stands up to credit review.
If you have trade flow, counterparties, and documents, we can review the structure and revert with a scoped quote for advisory support.
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 facility or instrument is subject to underwriting, 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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