Inside the Deal: How a Food Entrepreneur Used Private Credit to Stay in Control

In this episode, I’m joined by Leigh Hoagland, co-founder and former CEO of New York Private Finance and now senior advisor to the firm. Leigh shares the backstory of a borrower we’ll call “Bob”—a food entrepreneur who used a loan from NYPF to buy out a minority partner and retain full control of his company.

We explore:

• Why Bob borrowed personally instead of through the company
• How we structured the loan using a blend of illiquid private equity and a participating interest
• What made this deal a win for the borrower—and for NYPF
• How our model differs from mezzanine debt and other private credit providers

Leigh also shares reflections from his time at Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank, and explains how regulatory shifts gave rise to the NYPF model.