BUSINESS FINANCE

Corporate finance begins with sound fundamentals and cogent business analysis. Strategic Rail Finance advisors can analyze your project or corporate financings and help design the optimal capital structure.

SRF’s most frequently requested advisory service is to create a customized “capital access strategy”. With a “whole-system” approach, we comprehensively analyze both the business itself (revenue, expense, business development, financial reporting, organization structure, collateral assets, etc.) and business risk (country, counterparty, commodity, environmental, regulatory, etc.) to identify ways to efficiently access capital requirements needed to sustain and grow the business.

Our financial modeling astounds most clients, providing dynamic operational inputs with immediate graphic and numeric outputs of key operational and financial performance indicators along with projections of income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow. In valuing businesses, SRF moves beyond simplistic EBITDA multiples to risk-weighted value of projected free cash flows. All this supports our client’s decision making on finance and corporate strategy.

While we develop business finance strategies, we always give attention to public financing opportunities for private business. Public finance differs from private finance in that the public seeks “programmatic” return on investment, not just financial return on investment. This means that when a project and business is creating jobs, increasing tax base, creating jobs, attracting foreign investment, creating jobs, reducing environmental impacts, creating jobs, or addressing highway congestion we can often find public financial support. Did we mention creating jobs? If you’re creating jobs, public finance is a real possibility for your private business.

Our advisors have closed over 120 public finance transactions, ranging from various grants and monetized tax credits to taxable and tax-exempt bonds, state economic development, and infrastructure bank loans. Our team has closed financings with local CDFIs (community development financial institutions), state development authorities, the Economic Development Administration, US Department of Agriculture, the US Small Business Administration, and more. SRF advisors have successfully helped close over $2.5 billion in US DOT Railroad Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Finance (RRIF) loans, including the largest RRIF loan ever closed for a Class III railroad.

SRF intentionally avoids representing a specific bank or fund. Yes, we keep being asked—but yes, we consistently decline. SRF will not give up the independence we believe essential to being a trusted advisor. We must fully align ourselves with our client’s interests and we cannot compromise that alignment by promoting an allied funding source. Our job, as a trusted advisor, is to provide the business owners with our undivided attention.

Many consultants to the public sector sell plans. SRF does deals. We bring that same actionable, bankable focus that creates private sector success to all our public sector work.