Preferred Capital getting new business

"When banks tighten up, our business gets better," says Rocco Perate, chief executive officer of Wilmington-based small-business lender Preferred Capital LLC, which lent $25 million last year to firms that couldn't get cheaper bank loans.
Investors in Preferred and its predecessors "about doubled their money" when they cashed out last year, four years after investing after giving the firm $1.5 million in financing, said Michael Forman of FB Capital, one of the investors.
Perate said investors also included lawyers Steve Cozen, Patrick O'Connor and Michael Heller of the Cozen & O'Connor law firm, and Ira Lubert of Independence Capital. "It was a great investment for all involved, and it was also great for Rocco Perate, who now has a bigger company," said Heller.
Since the group cashed out, Preferred, backed by Balamor Capital Management of Radnor and financing from Textron Corp. and Sovereign Bank, has absorbed the former Mecantile Business Credit of Ardmore, boosting capacity, Perate said.
"We'll make more loans this year, but the average loan will be smaller,'' less than $500,000, down from more than $600,000, Perate predicted. "It's a sign of the times."