TMC Financing Helps Les Lunes Wine Secure $3.8M for Building and Equipment Purchase with only 10% Down

The SBA 504 loan program was clearly the best option for us. In fact, conventional loans just weren’t even feasible, given the much higher owner equity that they require,” states vintner Shaunt Oungoulian, owner of Les Lunes.

Conventional commercial mortgages typically require 20-30% as a down payment, while most SBA 504 loans only require 10%.

SBA 504 financing for commercial real estate and essential equipment

Another advantage that was important for Shaunt and Diego Roig was that the SBA 504 loan program allowed them to roll the cost of equipment into the loan package – something that’s not available through conventional real-estate loans but was critical for them. In this way, the Les Lunes team also benefits from the longer amortizations available with the SBA 504 loan program, with more affordable monthly payments.

“A key benefit for us was that TMC Financing and the SBA made it possible for us to purchase used equipment from another winery,” Shaunt explains. “This was a bit of an outlier for the program, but the seller worked with us to get the appraisals that we needed and TMC and the SBA made it work. Because we were able to do that, we got a lot more than we would have if we had to purchase new equipment. That’s made a huge difference in what we’ve been able to do with our winemaking operation.”

With their acquisition, Les Lunes can process, ferment, and bottle the wines without a third-party, giving them total control while stabilizing occupancy costs for the long term.

“The SBA 504 loan process is complex, but not any more so than you’d experience with other commercial loans,” says Shaunt. “We also had Anna and the TMC Financing team behind us, which kept things moving. Working with the TMC team was great for us. Now, we have everything together and do the work in house, which saves time and expense.”

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