Two financiers and an adviser on the steady rise of alternative forms of financing, the opportunities and especially the challenges for entrepreneurs seeking financing. "With the right structure and alignment, the adviser can optimize total financing.
Entrepreneurs, financiers and advisers are generally positive about the current market, according to a lively conversation in which the parties are remarkably like-minded. Nevertheless, advisers and providers of (non-bank) financing Bastiaan Breugem (Financieringsgilde), Bart van der Wielen (WDL Kredietfondsen) and Huub Rozendaal (Voordegroei) place a few caveats: due to geographic turmoil and U.S. rate increases, there is still uncertainty about the economic outlook.
Breugem started franchise organization Financieringsgilde in 2016. "When we started, the market was very different. There were three of us and it was really pioneering at the time. We have since grown into a network with 65 advisers across the country.' When financing requests are made, Financieringsgilde's advisers map out who the entrepreneur is, what kind of business it is, whether financing is wise, what points of interest there are and what kind of financing is involved. Breugem: "Our advisers know from experience where to go, apply for the possibilities with lenders and give advice. Together with the entrepreneur, they determine which financing is most appropriate.'
Van der Wielen started WDL Credit Funds a little more recently, in 2020. WDL Credit Funds provides loans to SMEs and real estate investors. Over the past three years, Van der Wielen's organization has grown rapidly. 'In 2023 we provided 25 million euros in new loans, last year 52 million and this year 130 million, with tickets between 0.5 and 25 million. A ticket of 23.5 million, early this year, was by far the largest so far. Those big tickets are in high demand and there are few providers. We mainly do financing with a first mortgage on real estate as collateral and have a few funds for that as well. Voordegroei and WDL also know how to find each other regularly.'
Agrees Rozendaal, Head of Sales at Voordegroei. This financing company focuses on Dutch SMEs. Voordegroei provides financing from 100,000 to 10 million euros. To this end, it has several funds and various mandates, with which it offers additional financing opportunities to businesses that want to accelerate and scale up to the next phase. 'And our business is also experiencing healthy growth. For example, we recently launched another new 40 million loan fund with De Goudse and the European Investment Fund. Entrepreneurs and advisers can go here for corporate real estate, acquisition finance, growth finance and working capital.'
The financing market has changed over the past decade. What do you see among entrepreneurs, providers and advisers?
Breugem: "In recent years, in particular, there has been more acceptance by entrepreneurs to use an adviser when seeking financing. Previously, they went to their home bank for financing. This limited their options to purely the financing solutions offered by that bank. By working with an adviser, the entire financing market is mapped out and the options are looked at from the entrepreneur's position. This gives many more options that also better fit his needs; on average, a company only calls on such financing once every five years. In addition, the landscape has become more complicated; there are many more lenders. The expert takes the work out of his hands.
Rozendaal: "Lenders in the market today increasingly focus on the adviser. We too deliberately work exclusively through advisers and not directly with entrepreneurs. Advisers know exactly how to submit an application to us and have often known their client for years. This ensures efficiency and saves everyone valuable time. Therefore, we regularly advise entrepreneurs to use an adviser. In doing so, we are happy to refer them to a reliable party in the area, such as Financieringsgilde. In this way we contribute to a smooth process and strengthen our cooperation with advisers.
Van der Wielen: 'Over the past five years, entrepreneurs have indeed increasingly come to realize that using an adviser gives them access to the full range of financial products, rather than just the bank's account. Rabobank resisted this for a long time and wanted to continue managing it itself, but has now switched and no longer sees itself as the customer's sole adviser. I think it's a smart move that they're letting go of that now.
You read an excerpt from the roundtable interview with three financing experts and can be read in its entirety in the Brookz 500. Wondering what opportunities and threats entrepreneurs face in the acquisition market in 2026? Then you can order the 2026 edition at the click of a button.
