Gibraltar Business Capital

Best for: U.S. lower middle-market companies (manufacturers, distributors, consumer-products and staffing firms) that need a $10 million to $100 million revolver against receivables and inventory, especially sponsor-backed businesses in a turnaround, acquisition or refinancing that a bank won't do.

Not for: Small businesses that need less than $10 million, startups without a collateral base, or anyone who wants a published rate card before talking to an originator. Look at a factor or a small-business lender instead.

Lender List verdict: Gibraltar Business Capital is a long-running, Hercules-owned non-bank ABL lender that will finance borrowers banks consider too risky. Expect private-credit pricing well above a bank ABL: one disclosed 2023 facility priced at SOFR + 5.50% with closing, unused-line and exit fees, about 10.8% APR in our example.

Gibraltar Business Capital at a glance

Gibraltar Business Capital lends $10 million to $100 million through senior secured asset-based facilities.

What is Gibraltar Business Capital?

Gibraltar Business Capital is a Northbrook, Illinois asset-based lender formed in 2010 and owned by Hercules Capital since 2018. CEO Scott Winicour formed it by buying Gibraltar Financial Corporation, a Chicago finance company dating to 1951. Hercules, a publicly traded specialty finance company, bought all of its equity in March 2018 and kept the name and management.

The lender says it has served more than 300 lower middle-market clients and is funded partly by a $150 million Bank of America-led line set up in 2021. Its ceiling rose to $100 million per borrower in July 2022; SFNet lists its sweet spot as $25 million to $75 million. It lends nationwide, mostly to manufacturers, distributors and consumer-products companies.

How a Gibraltar Business Capital ABL facility works

Gibraltar Business Capital sizes each revolver on a borrowing base: eligible receivables, inventory and equipment, each multiplied by its own advance rate. You draw, repay and re-draw up to that number as collateral moves.

• Revolvers: the core product, secured by receivables and inventory, with machinery, real estate and intellectual property also accepted.
• Term loans: equipment term loans sized on appraised assets, often paired with a revolver.
• FILO, stretch, split lien and unitranche: extra availability above normal advance rates, or one facility covering both asset-based and cash-flow pieces.
• Monitoring: collateral is re-valued regularly, so you report receivables and inventory to keep availability current.

Deals posted on its site run from $13 million to $27.5 million.

Gibraltar Business Capital rates, fees and borrowing base

Gibraltar Business Capital does not publish rates; the only public pricing is a 2023 revolver at SOFR + 5.50%. That facility, a $15 million line disclosed in a borrower's SEC filing, also carried:

• Closing fee: $112,500, or 0.75% of the commitment
• Unused line fee: 0.50% a year on the undrawn amount
• Exit fee: 2% of the commitment if repaid in year one, 1% after that
• Renewal fee: 0.75% for each one-year extension
• Covenants: financial tests such as minimum tangible net worth or EBITDA, with fees charged for amendments
• No warrants

Worked example: a $20 million revolver backed by $15 million of eligible receivables at 80% ($12 million) and $12 million of eligible inventory at 50% ($6 million) gives an $18 million borrowing base. Keep $14 million drawn for a year at 9.42% (SOFR of 3.92% plus 5.50%) and interest is $1,318,800, or $109,900 a month. Add $30,000 of unused-line fees and a $150,000 closing fee and year-one cost is $1,498,800, about 10.7% of the average balance, or roughly 10.8% APR on an IRR basis. Repaying in the first year would add a $400,000 exit fee (2%); the disclosed deal waived it for a Bank of America refinancing. Advance rates here are industry typicals, not Gibraltar's.

Gibraltar Business Capital requirements

Gibraltar Business Capital requires a facility need of at least $10 million and collateral that can support it.

Approval rests on your receivables, inventory and a field exam rather than a credit score, so companies in high-risk industries, with customer concentration or with uneven sales can still qualify.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Lends to companies in transition that banks often turn down, including turnarounds and sponsor-backed buyouts
• Large range for a non-bank ABL: $10 million to $100 million per borrower
• Backed by Hercules Capital and a Bank of America-led credit line
• No warrants in the one disclosed deal

Cons

• Not an option below $10 million, so most small businesses are excluded
• No published rates, advance rates or terms
• Priced as private credit: SOFR + 5.50% in the disclosed deal, well above a bank ABL
• Closing, unused-line, renewal and exit fees add to the headline rate

Gibraltar Business Capital alternatives on Lender List

Gibraltar Business Capital competes with bank ABL groups and other asset-based lending companies; smaller needs fit these listings better.

• King Trade Capital — large purchase-order funding that often works alongside an ABL revolver
• Star Funding — factoring and PO funding for importers and wholesalers below Gibraltar's minimum
• SouthStar Capital — invoice factoring and PO financing with no stated cap
• Liquid Capital — local factoring offices for deals from $20,000
• Browse all asset-based lending lenders on Lender List

Frequently asked questions about Gibraltar Business Capital

Is Gibraltar Business Capital Legit? Yes. Gibraltar Business Capital has lent since 2010, grew out of a Chicago finance company founded in 1951, and has been owned by NYSE-listed Hercules Capital since 2018. It is an SFNet member, borrows from a Bank of America-led syndicate, and its deals appear in SEC filings. We found no BBB or Trustpilot profile.

How Much Does a Gibraltar Business Capital Loan Cost? Gibraltar does not publish rates. A $15 million revolver disclosed in a 2023 SEC filing was priced at SOFR + 5.50%, about 9.42% at current SOFR, plus a 0.75% closing fee, a 0.50% unused-line fee and an exit fee of 1% to 2%. Our example works out near 10.8% APR.

How Does Gibraltar Calculate the Borrowing Base? Your availability equals eligible collateral times an advance rate for each asset type. Gibraltar does not publish its advance rates; across the industry, receivables commonly get about 80% and finished inventory about 50%. Old invoices and slow inventory are usually excluded, and the base is updated as you report.

Is Gibraltar Business Capital a Bank? No. Gibraltar Business Capital is a non-bank, private-credit lender owned by Hercules Capital and funded in part by a bank credit line. That lets it take on borrowers with performance hiccups, concentration or sales swings that a bank ABL group would pass on, in exchange for higher pricing and fees.

Does Gibraltar Business Capital Offer Factoring? Not as a featured product today. Hercules described Gibraltar's business as asset-based loans and factoring in 2018, but the current website describes only ABL revolvers, term loans and hybrid structures. A receivables-backed revolver does a similar job at larger sizes; for invoice-by-invoice factoring, see the alternatives above.

Who Owns Gibraltar Business Capital? Hercules Capital, Inc., a NYSE-listed specialty finance company, has owned Gibraltar Business Capital since March 2018. Hercules bought all of the equity but kept the Gibraltar name, Northbrook headquarters and CEO Scott Winicour's team, so it still operates as a standalone asset-based lender.

Cash Flow Lending vs. Asset-Based Lending: Which Does Gibraltar Do? Gibraltar is primarily an asset-based lender: how much you can borrow follows your receivables, inventory and equipment. For companies that also need cash-flow debt, its split lien and unitranche facilities place the asset-based revolver and the cash-flow loan with Gibraltar as a single lender, instead of splitting them between two.

What Is the Smallest Loan Gibraltar Business Capital Makes? Gibraltar's stated range starts at $10 million and runs to $100 million, and SFNet lists a core focus of $25 million to $75 million. Companies that need less should look at factoring companies such as Liquid Capital, which funds from $20,000.

Last verified 2026-10-26. Pricing and terms are provider-stated or third-party-reported and vary by offer; confirm with the lender before applying.