Lafayette Square USA, Inc., a business development company
sponsored by Lafayette Square, received its first SBIC license in
February 2023.
MIAMI, Sept. 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lafayette Square announced today
that the Small Business Administration ("SBA") has approved the
firm's application for a Specialized Small Business Investment
Company ("SSBIC") license. SSBICs focus on providing financing to
small business ventures owned and managed by historically
underrepresented populations, specifically women, minorities, and
veterans.
The SSBIC license provides a new source of leverage in addition
to the SBIC license that Lafayette Square received last year and a
recently announced revolver with ING Capital LLC. The revolver
features an innovative pricing structure that adjusts the interest
rate based on the achievement of certain key performance indicators
aligned with Lafayette Square's 2030 goals, which focus on
working-class people and places. Together, these leverage sources
provide Lafayette Square with access to lower-cost and
longer-duration capital relative to its peers. Moreover, by
directly investing in women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses
through the SSBIC license, the firm further strengthens its
commitment to supporting entrepreneurs who are often overlooked by
traditional investment firms.
"We intentionally align ourselves with government organizations
like the SBA that are dedicated to creating jobs and delivering
economic mobility to working-class people and places," said
Damien Dwin, founder & CEO of
Lafayette Square. "This license approval brings us closer to
achieving our 2030 goals to support 100,000 working-class jobs,
invest 50 percent of our capital in working-class places, and
curate benefits for 50 percent of our portfolio companies."
In addition to financing, Lafayette Square offers its borrowers
access to Worker Solutions, a custom-built platform that seeks
to measurably improve employee retention, well-being, and
productivity by connecting management teams to a curated list of
third-party service providers that offer non-traditional benefits
for their employees. By delivering these solutions, Lafayette
Square aims to reduce operational risk for its portfolio companies,
help them attract and retain talent, and improve job quality. The
platform will track and measure the impact that Lafayette Square's
SSBIC has on improving the lives of low-and-moderate income
workers.
About Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square invests in middle market companies while
positively supporting people and communities. We believe the demand
for capital in businesses headquartered outside of high-income
places is an overlooked opportunity. We seek investment
opportunities that stimulate economic growth across the United States through the creation and
preservation of working-class jobs. For more information, please
visit www.lafayettesquare.com.
Media Contact
Jansel
Murad
Dukas Linden Public Relations
lafayettesquare@dlpr.com
646-722-6531
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SOURCE Lafayette Square Holding Company