Kennedy Funding Financial, an Englewood Cliffs, NJ-based direct private lender, closed a $1 million loan to Herb Kinman Chevrolet, a new car dealership in Carrollton, KY.

The loan will be used for working capital and to allow for the purchase of additional cars.

Located near Louisville, KY and situated less than 1.5 miles from Interstate 71, Herb Kinman Chevrolet draws the bulk of its customers from surrounding cities and towns. In a town as small as Carrollton, the dealership is reliant on these out-of-town customers for sales, parts and service.

According to Tim Hutteger, CEO of Shawnee, KS-based Vantage Commercial Capital, securing a loan for the dealership was no easy feat.

“One of the challenges is that Carrollton is a relatively small town of less than 4,000 people, which made it somewhat challenging to get a conventional loan [because] a lot of traditional lenders like to do business in a major metropolitan area,” Hutteger said. “The fact that the property was a car dealership also made it extremely difficult, since the only other business that could really move in there is another car dealership,” limiting who could occupy the property down the line.

While traditional lenders saw this faraway location and dispersed customer base as too risky to finance, Kennedy Funding Financial saw an opportunity and funded the loan.

“This dealership is serving the needs for not just a small town, but of major population centers like Louisville and Cincinnati, which are both less than an hour away,” said Kevin Wolfer, CEO of Kennedy Funding Financial. “When other lenders saw this faraway area as an isolating struggle for growth, we saw an opportunity. This loan will ensure that the dealership can continue to grow and thrive.”

Kennedy Funding Financial, a nationwide direct private lender specializes in bridge loans for commercial property and land acquisition, development, workouts, bankruptcies and foreclosures.