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.
For pre-submission discussions, we offer paid consultations. To initiate underwriting and lender outreach, submit the deal.
Project finance is one of the most preparation-heavy forms of capital raising. Sponsors often speak about a project in broad commercial terms: land, permits, capex, projected revenues, maybe an EPC or an offtaker. Lenders do not underwrite broad commercial terms. They underwrite a defined risk structure. They want to know how the project will be built, who will build it, who will buy the output, how cost overruns are handled, how debt service is protected, what security package exists, what permits are in place, and how the downside is contained. That work must be assembled and presented properly before any serious lender process can begin.
This is exactly why project finance advisors charge upfront retainers. The retainer is not a ceremonial prepayment. It funds the real work of bankability analysis, transaction architecture, document review, model interrogation, capital stack design, and lender preparation. Serious sponsors budget for this because serious projects are not financed off enthusiasm. They are financed off structure, control, contracts, and risk discipline.
An upfront project finance retainer covers the work that happens before market approach: mandate intake, project review, bankability analysis, capex and revenue logic review, contract assessment, risk allocation analysis, project structuring, lender memorandum preparation, data-room organisation, and execution planning. Project finance lenders want a ready file, not a promising idea with gaps everywhere.
Project finance is financing raised primarily against the future cash flows of a project rather than relying only on the sponsor’s broad balance sheet. That usually means the debt case depends on the project contracts, the construction and operating model, the revenue framework, the reserve structure, and the legal isolation of the project itself. In many cases the financing sits at SPV level and lenders rely on a ring-fenced security package built around project assets, contracts, accounts, and cash flows.
In practice, that makes project finance highly document-driven and highly structural. A project may look attractive commercially yet remain unfinanceable if the permits are weak, the land position is unclear, the capex basis is not credible, the offtake is soft, the sponsor support is thin, or the model does not survive downside testing. The advisory mandate exists to identify those weaknesses and present a viable structure where one actually exists.
| Term | Meaning In A Project Finance Context |
|---|---|
| Project Finance Advisor | A firm engaged to review, structure, package, and present a project financing mandate to lenders or investors. It is not usually the lender itself. |
| SPV | A special purpose vehicle used to ring-fence the project, its contracts, assets, liabilities, and financing obligations from the wider sponsor group. |
| EPC Contract | The engineering, procurement, and construction agreement defining how the project will be delivered, by whom, on what timing, and with what risk allocation. |
| Offtake Agreement | A contract under which a buyer commits to purchase the project’s output, often forming a major part of the lender’s revenue visibility. |
| DSCR | Debt Service Coverage Ratio, a core project finance metric measuring how much cash flow is available relative to required debt service. |
| Financial Close | The stage at which financing documents are executed, conditions precedent are satisfied, and the project funding becomes available for drawdown. |
| Security Package | The set of lender protections over project accounts, shares, contracts, assets, receivables, insurances, and control rights. |
| Lender-Ready File | A complete financing pack containing the model, contracts, project summary, sponsor profile, permits status, capex basis, risk analysis, and structure the lender needs to underwrite. |
The upfront retainer covers the work required to turn a project concept or partially developed file into a financeable submission. Many mandates arrive with a deck, a high-level model, and optimism. That is not enough. The advisory team has to test the economics, challenge the assumptions, identify the gaps, and package the project into a structure lenders can actually work with.
Review of the project type, stage, jurisdiction, capex, expected revenue model, sponsor profile, requested capital stack, and obvious bankability issues.
Review of land rights, permits, EPC arrangements, concession agreements, offtake documents, interconnection rights, feasibility materials, and sponsor support documents.
Examination of the financial model, assumptions, capex basis, operating costs, draw schedule, debt sizing logic, DSCR resilience, and downside sensitivity.
Analysis of sponsor equity, senior debt, mezzanine debt, preferred equity, reserve requirements, guarantees, and credit enhancement where relevant.
Preparation of the information memorandum, transaction summary, risk section, project highlights, lender Q&A positioning, and data-room logic.
Identification of lenders, infrastructure funds, export credit sources, private credit providers, or strategic capital whose mandate actually fits the project profile.
Project finance is rarely handled by one person. A credible file often requires multiple workstreams at once. The market ranges below are commercially realistic for experienced external professionals and specialist advisory resources.
| Role | Typical Function | Typical Market Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Project Finance Analyst | Model review, ratio analysis, debt sizing, sensitivity cases, and financing support materials. | USD 150 to USD 300 per hour |
| Structuring Lead | Capital stack design, lender positioning, covenant logic, reserve structure, and execution strategy. | USD 350 to USD 700 per hour |
| Technical Consultant | Review of construction assumptions, output estimates, plant design, operating risk, and technical feasibility. | USD 175 to USD 450 per hour |
| Compliance / KYC Specialist | Sanctions screening, beneficial ownership review, jurisdiction checks, and project counterparty verification. | USD 125 to USD 275 per hour |
| Transaction Counsel | Review of EPC, offtake, concession, security, intercreditor, and finance documentation. | USD 450 to USD 1,100 per hour |
| Tax / Structuring Counsel | SPV jurisdiction planning, withholding tax analysis, cross-border leakage review, and legal structure optimisation. | USD 500 to USD 1,200 per hour |
Project finance lenders do not rely on a brochure and a high-level return target. They expect a proper file. Even relatively standard energy or infrastructure mandates can require a large document pack before lenders will engage seriously.
Corporate documents, sponsor biographies, beneficial ownership information, track record, and evidence of sponsor equity capacity.
Land documents, site control, permits status, licences, concessions, grid or utility rights, and environmental approvals where relevant.
EPC contract, O&M agreement, offtake agreement, PPA, feedstock agreement, concession, or other revenue and delivery framework documents.
Base case model, downside cases, capex schedule, operating cost assumptions, financing assumptions, reserve logic, and debt service profile.
Feasibility studies, engineering reports, output assessments, market studies, resource reports, and technical diligence where available.
Executive summary, financing memorandum, risk matrix, sources and uses, project timeline, and a properly organised data room.
The retainer covers the advisory work. It does not eliminate the wider budget a real project financing process requires. Sponsors who object to the retainer often ignore the fact that project finance routinely involves third-party legal, technical, environmental, tax, and structuring costs.
These are normal project finance costs, not unusual extras. They exist because the transaction is real.
If the project is genuinely material, the sponsor should already expect an execution budget.
Serious project sponsors know that lenders are not buying into the story. They are underwriting the structure. That means documentation, risk allocation, model quality, and project controls all matter before the file goes to market.
That is the practical dividing line. A serious sponsor wants the file prepared properly because lender relationships are valuable and weak submissions can kill a process early. A time waster wants the advisor to market a half-formed project, absorb the preparation cost, and hope the market will somehow fix the gaps. That is not how project finance works.
If you do, why is there no budget for advisory, legal, technical, and diligence work on a project requiring third-party capital?
If yes, why has the financing not already moved? If no, why should a third party repair the bankability gaps for free?
Lenders do not underwrite vague references to EPC support, offtake, or permits. They want the documents and they want to understand the risk allocation.
Usually not. Advisory work is no different. It is professional transaction work, not a speculative courtesy.
No. The retainer pays for advisory work. Lenders and investors still make an independent decision based on the project economics, contracts, risk allocation, and sponsor quality.
Because project finance lenders expect a prepared file. They do not want to spend underwriting time guessing what the sponsor means or where the gaps are.
No. Success fees compensate closing. They do not fund the weeks or months of modelling, document review, structuring, and packaging required to get the project into marketable shape.
Many underestimate the amount of work involved or assume lenders will help shape the project for free. In reality, lenders expect the sponsor and its advisors to do that work first.
Often that the sponsor is not ready, lacks budget, does not control the file properly, or expects the advisor to absorb the full cost of preparing the project.
That the sponsor is serious, engaged, budgeted, and prepared to run a proper project finance process.
If you control a genuine project, have a real capital requirement, and are prepared to fund proper execution, submit your mandate for review. Financely will assess whether the file is suitable for structuring, packaging, and lender placement support.
Financely provides project finance advisory and capital raising support on a best-efforts basis and, where relevant, through regulated or licensed counterparties. It is not a bank, does not guarantee approval, and does not represent that any lender or investor will fund a project. Financing outcomes depend on project quality, documentation, sponsor strength, structure, market conditions, and third-party underwriting decisions.
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.
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Email supportdesk@financely-group.com for general enquiries, press & partnership requests.
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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