Established in 2015, Little & Lively has experienced substantial year-over-year growth, growing 85% from 2019 to 2020 alone. Their on-trend designs and tuned-in marketing approach resonate strongly with their target audience, and the brand has a loyal, expanding customer base.

Although Little & Lively has a bricks-and-mortar space, 95% of their sales are e-commerce derived. They recently identified US-based company, Keep Nature Wild, as having a similar market profile and an opportunity for e-commerce growth, and began self-sourcing financing to support its acquisition. They had approached their incumbent bank and another lender but were unable to build any traction. Company ownership was beginning to doubt whether it would be possible to source a viable financing solution to support their expansion goals.

Ashdown Capital was introduced to Little & Lively by their fractional CFO, who thought that Ashdown’s export financing expertise could move the deal forward. After analyzing the nature of the acquisition and determining which product would best support it, Ashdown’s Kern Chiu began sourcing lenders that were familiar with EDC financing and open to providing the product. The successful lender ultimately provided Little & Lively with the demand loan required for the acquisition, as well as a higher line of credit than their current arrangement.

“As a CFO, I’m well-versed in where and how to get financing. However, Kern has the connections to make the process go both smoothly and quickly. After getting stuck, I called Kern and he had a term sheet in our hands in about a week. Kern got us a great rate with a great bank and freed up my time to work on the strategic aspects of this deal.” – Matt Putra, CFO, Eightx

• Line of credit
• Acquisition loan